General
Mak’s MPIM Nurtures Uganda Vision 2040 Change Agents
The Master in Public Infrastructure Management (MPIM) is a Pan-African Capacity Building Programme (PACBP), supported by the Development Bank of Southern Africa (DBSA), the International Development Corporation (IDC) and the French Agency for Development (AFD). Launched on 30th March 2012 at Makerere University, the programme seeks to build capacity of the African Public Service by training a calibre of public service managers and supervisors who will provide effective leadership to the management of public affairs and infrastructure programmes.
The programme though housed by the School of Business, College of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS), is interdisciplinary in nature and is taught with support from the School of Engineering, College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT) and the School of Social Sciences (College of Humanities and Social Sciences-CHUSS). The programme, held in partnership with University of Pretoria (South Africa) and the University of Dakar (Senegal) ensures that students incorporate the best practices in public infrastructure management through study tours to exemplary companies/projects both within and outside Uganda.
Following this year’s tours both internally; within Uganda and externally; to South Africa, the MPIM programme held the 3rd Study Tour Dissemination Seminar on Friday 14th October 2016 at the School of Business, CoBAMS. Welcoming participants to the seminar, The School Dean, Assoc. Prof. Umar Kakumba noted that MPIM was raising a breed of professionals that would not only help establish but also sustain and better manage public infrastructure.
“It is a programme that takes on people from various backgrounds, and in terms of facilitation, we have a critical potential of human resources whereby we engage guest lecturers” remarked Dr. Kakumba. He nevertheless noted that the School has plans to enhance the delivery of the programme by requesting prospective stakeholder institutions to provide guest lectureship, and areas of learning through study tour sites.
Infrastructure for energy, transport, water, oil and gas and ICT were identified as the fundamentals that need to be strengthened in order to harness the abundant opportunities around the country so as to attain Uganda’s Vision 2040. The Uganda Vision 2040 statement is “A Transformed Ugandan Society from a Peasant to a Modern and Prosperous Country within 30 years”
Dr. Kakumba further commended current and former MPIM students for fronting the idea of a Consortium/Think Tank to provide consultancy, skills and capacity to various agencies. “This consortium or group of people may belong to different organizations but joining together under the patronage of the School of Business, will offer first-hand information on issues of water, solid waste management, roads and transport,” he said.
He further noted that these ideas will be shared with stakeholder institutions at a future engagement to enable them weigh in their opinions. The Dean further shared that with support from partner institutions, the School will be in position to progressively create executive short training programmes, tailor-made to address industry needs as they arise.
The 3rd Study Tour Dissemination Seminar tackled three sectors namely; Transport, Water and Energy. The Transport Group shared an overview of the South African National Roads Agency Limited (SANRAL) and GAUTRAIN Integrated Transport System both based in South Africa, while the Water group evaluated Best practices and Lessons Learnt from Rand Water-South Africa and the National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NWSC)-Uganda. The Energy Group examined the various projects in the energy sectors of South Africa and Uganda.
The groups demonstrated passion for fulfilling the objectives of their respective study tours by presenting detailed overviews, informative comparisons on regulatory frameworks, product ranges and project costs as well as challenges, strategies and lessons learnt from the sectors. The moderator of the presentations and open discussion Dr. Godfrey Akileng commended the groups for a job well done and shared notable issues from the presentations that are critical to the discussion on a way forward.
• At least 1 20litre jerry can of water per day to be provided freely to each poor household
• Value Added Tax (VAT) should not be levied on water
• Government should compulsorily acquire land for infrastructure development
• Management of sanitation should be incorporated into the water sector
• A multi-sectoral approach should be adopted for infrastructural development and management to drive the middle-income status agenda of the country
• Efficient, Ugandan-run governance and management structures should be adopted for public infrastructure management systems
• Uganda should develop its own local Public-Private Partnership (PPP) capacity mindful of project costs, bid times, and issues to do with technology transfer
• Support the Uganda Development Bank (UDB) in developing bankable projects especially those in infrastructure
“These are critical issues of policy nature which we should write down in form of a framework paper and disseminate at another forum similar to this,” noted Dr. Akileng.
The Uganda National Roads Authority (UNRA) is an agency that has witnessed a lot of institutional change in the recent past. The Chief Guest at the seminar and Head of Research and Development at UNRA-Dr. Henry Rubarenzya, thanked the CoBAMS leadership for organizing and hosting the event.
“Change is part of reality and we have to continually innovate in all dimensions of our work for improvement. At UNRA, we take innovation seriously and have structured it formally to ensure that the organisation does not stop challenging the status quo,” remarked Dr. Rubarenzya.
He further noted that public funds management presents a very challenging task for the weak hearted but is a simple task for managers of high integrity. He commended the MPIM programme for the human capital development initiatives within Makerere, other institutions and within the country. “I therefore applaud the milestones so far obtained in building management skills for existing and upcoming leaders in the infrastructure sector” said Dr. Rubarenzya.
At the conclusion of the seminar, the Day’s emcee and Coordinator, Graduate Programs & Research- School of Business, CoBAMS-Dr. Peter Turyakira noted that innovation is the only way to go as everything was constantly changing. “We must be seen to be change agents and therefore demonstrate effective managerial skills in public infrastructure management” he said.
Please see Downloads for the detailed presentations by the Groups
Article by Public Relations Office
By Bernard Buteera
On Saturday 2nd December 2023, all roads led to Achukudu Community Primary School in Napak District, Karamoja sub-region, as the Scholars and Alumni of Mastercard Foundation at Makerere University commemorated their Scholars’ Annual Day of Community Service (Giveback). The 2023 Scholars Annual Day of Community Service was held at Achukudu Community Primary School, Napak District in the Karamoja sub-region. Established in 2013, Achukudu Community School serves two ethnic communities—The Iteso and Karamojong.
With a total population of 1,907 pupils only three government-paid teachers, and nine community-paid teachers, the School faces a plethora of challenges. Key among the challenges is the lack of Classrooms, decent Ventilated Pit Latrines, and Desks. Therefore when the Scholars identified the School as one that deserved to be given a gift of a classroom block, it was a befitting choice!
The Scholars with support from the alumni, the Program Team, Members of the Steering Committee, and partners of the Scholars Program at Makerere University intervened by constructing a two-classroom block, which was supervised by one of the alumni who is an Engineer. Alongside the classroom block, the Scholars also provided 40 desks, helping the school meet UNEB Center eligibility criteria.
While presiding over the event, the area member of Parliament, Hon. John Bosco Ngoya, thanked the Scholars and alumni community at Makerere University for supporting the young pupils of Achukudu Primary School and the entire community by gifting them with a two-classroom block.
“Thank you Scholars and alumni of Mastercard Foundation at Makerere University for the Christmas gift of a classroom block to the young people and the entire community of Achukudu. This classroom block will go a long way in improving the learning environment of the young children of Achukudu primary school.” Hon. Ngoya pointed out.
Hon. Ngoya called upon other people to emulate the Scholars and alumni of the Mastercard Foundation in embracing the spirit of giving back to the vulnerable people in the community. On his part, he donated One Million Five hundred shillings (1,500,000/=) to help the School purchase more desks, and he had earlier contributed One million shillings (1,000,000/=) towards the construction of the classroom block.
The District Education Officer (DEO) for Napak District, Ms. Joyce Nakoya, praised the Scholars Community for embracing and practicing the spirit of giving back to other people at an early age.
“Thank you Scholars and alumni of the Mastercard Foundation at Makerere for embracing the spirit of giving back to other people at such an early age. If all people gave back to the less privileged in our communities, we would have a better world for everyone.” Ms. Nakoya pointed out.
Ms. Nakoya further pointed out every child deserves to study in a decent environment, therefore it was a befitting cause for the Scholars to construct a classroom block for the young pupils of Achukudu community primary school, who were studying in open grass thatched classrooms.
The Program Manager of, the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Makerere University, Ms. Jolly Okumu who led the team of Scholars, alumni, and staff to Karamoja thanked the community of Achukudu for supporting the Scholars to deliver the class block by contributing to the construction sand.
“We come here today to join with you as a community driven by a shared commitment to education, empowerment, and ethos of giving back. Today is a historic occasion as we celebrate the completion and commissioning of the classroom block, which is a remarkable testament to the transformative power of education and our unwavering spirit of community service.” Ms. Jolly remarked.
The President of the Scholars Association, Mr. Godfrey Okello, thanked all the Scholars and alumni, and all stakeholders who contributed to the construction of the classroom block, which was a dream that became a reality.
“I would like to thank my colleagues and people of goodwill who supported us to realize our dream of constructing this classroom for our young brothers and sisters of Achukudu Primary School. Together we can make a difference in the lives of our fellow young people in Uganda and Africa as a whole.” Mr. Okello remarked.
The Headteacher of the School, Mr. Eryebu Raymond, who was visibly very excited was full of praises for Scholars and alumni of the Mastercard Foundation, for what he termed as an iconic classroom block they had gifted to his School.
“This day is very special to us, we will not see this day again. We are delighted to receive the Scholars and alumni of Mastercard Foundation from Makerere University, thank you for considering supporting our School” Mr. Eryebu excitedly remarked.
The Headteacher revealed that one of the major challenges the school was facing was an acute shortage of classrooms for his 1,097 pupils. He was therefore grateful to Mastercard Foundation Scholars for choosing to construct a two-class block for the School.
“This donation of a classroom block and Desks is a testament to your commitment to education and empowering the lives of the vulnerable people in the community. This classroom block and desks will go a long way in improving the quality of teaching and learning at our school.” Mr. Eryebu further remarked.
The 2023 Scholars Annual Day of Community Service (Giveback) was punctuated with a lot of joy, pomp, and fanfare, as the pupils and the entire community of Achukudu danced and ululated at the commissioning of the classroom block. The construction of the classroom block and purchase of desks for Achukudu Community Primary School was made possible by generous contributions by the Scholars, alumni, the Program Team, and members of the Steering Committee.
Among the Partners who made financial contributions towards the class block construction included; DFCU Bank, Post Bank, URA, Katumba Estates, Footsteps Furniture Ltd, and Sion Travels Ltd.
The Scholars and Alumni Day of Community Service (Give back) is an annual event, where Scholars and alumni of the Mastercard Foundation go out into the community to give back by providing solutions to challenges that a particular community is facing. Over the years Scholars have given back to the communities in numerous ways that range from offering professional services and erecting major projects like classroom blocks.
Bernard Buteera is the Communications and Public Relations Officer of the Mastercard Foundation Scholars Program at Makerere University.
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