Minister cancels appointment of NFA boss

Jun 13, 2011

ENVIRONMENT minister Maria Mutagamba has stopped the recruitment of an executive director for the National Forestry Authority (NFA).

By GERALD TENYWA

ENVIRONMENT minister Maria Mutagamba has stopped the recruitment of an executive director for the National Forestry Authority (NFA).

After a series of interviews by consultants and the board of trustees, Mutagamba was given three candidates namely; Dr. Arthur Mugisha, Robert Nabanyumya and Hudson Andrua.

The minister, however, declined to appoint one of them to head the top forestry body.
“We have to review the whole exercise,” said Mutagamba.

She added that donors were not comfortable with the current management.

“Donors raised concerns from the time of Akankwasa because it is their tax payers’ money that is used to fund development and conservation projects in countries like Uganda,” Mutagamba said.

Mutagamba cited Norway and the World Bank as the funders that are concerned about the current state of affairs at the forestry body.

Two years ago, Damian Akankwasa, who was heading NFA, was sacked on the orders of President Yoweri Museveni. This was after sh900m disappeared from Akankwasa’s bedroom.

Andrua has been the acting executive director for two years until last Wednesday when Mutagamba appointed Gershom Onyango as acting executive director.

Onyango is the director of environmental planning in the environment ministry.
Other sources told New Vision that former LC5 chairperson for Kabarole Michael Mugisa was being fronted by State House to head NFA.

Mutagamba confirmed the development, saying: “Mugisa is being fronted, but he was not shortlisted and did not sit the interviews. I find it hard to bring him in.”

Asked why she had not appointed either Mugisa or Nabanyumya if the donor’s stance was not favouring Andrua, Mutagamba said security organs had not cleared the duo.

“I do not know the reasons why because I did not inquire. Even if I had, they would not have told me,” she added.

Mugisa previously headed the Uganda Wildlife Authority and Nabanyumya worked with the defunct Forestry Department and later with international NGOs.

The chairperson of NFA’s board of trustees, Mukadasi Buyinza, declined to comment on whether they would approve Mugisa.

“To the best of my knowledge, the minister submitted the names to security organs for vetting,” said Buyinza.
However, several people, including academicians, parliamentarians and environmental activists, described the issue as a governance crisis.

“The minister has no control and authority over environmental bodies under her docket,” said Godber Tumushabe, the executive director of the Advocates Coalition for Environment and Development (ACODE).

“It is difficult to make such institutions work because the actual decisions are made elsewhere,” he added.

ACODE is an environmental NGO and the national convener of the Forestry Governance Learning Group in Uganda.


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