Keith Muhakanizi, one of the longest-serving technocrats in President Museveni’s government, died last evening at the age of 64.
The Permanent Secretary in the Office of the Prime Minister and former Secretary to Treasury, died in a Milan hospital after battling cancer for years.
Muhakanizi, who until his death was the last man standing in an elite league of the late Chris Kassami and late Bank of Uganda Governor Emmanuel Tumusiime Mutebile, spent decades at the Ministry of Finance since graduation from Makerere University.
In July 2021, President Museveni sent Muhakanizi to the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM) as Permanent Secretary.
As a macro- economist, and a public sector management specialist, Muhakanizi helped in the formulation of National Development Plans, Public Finance and Management Act, The Bank of Uganda Act among others.
He also played a key role in revenue mobilisation, introducing commitment control systems that guided development and execution of economic policies for more than a decade at the Ministry of Finance.
Jim Mugunga, one of the longest-serving Ministry of Finance Spokespersons, paid homage to a man who played a central role in the formulation and implementation of economic reforms that restored Uganda’s macro-economic stability and other reforms in the economy.
Mugunga described Muhakanizi as “a true public servant, a professional economist, a very good manager, a stickler, an administrator and a parent.”
