General
Thank you Prof. William Bazeyo for Diligently serving MakSPH!
Published
7 years agoon
Like Prof. William Bazeyo, Dean MakSPH and RAN Chief of Party has always put it both in writing and speech, ‘Be a Contribution’, the afternoon of Wednesday August 30, 2017 saw him, share the State of Makerere University School of Public Health (MakSPH) presentation with students, faculty, non-teaching staff and the general public. Prof. Bazeyo’s diligent service during his term as the Dean was witnessed in the big number of people who filled the Davies Lecture Theatre in Makerere University College of Health Sciences and patiently listened to and engaged with Prof. Bazeyo for over 3 hours!
‘Look at how my people are standing at the back of this lecture Theatre, they do not have where to sit but also, we all can not fit in this theatre and thus the need for all of us to support the project-constructing a bigger home for MakSPH. Mobilization work is progressing on well and we thank all of you for the support thus far. Please continue supporting us and also share the message widely so that we solicit as much support as possible to put up a befitting home for MakSPH’ noted Prof. Bazeyo.
This was an opportunity for Prof. Bazeyo to share an account of his 8 years in service highlighting achievements, lessons learned and challenges. Prof. Bazeyo’s term as the MakSPH Dean ends on September 30, 2017, what a legacy he is leaving at MakSPH, all of us would take pride in identifying with all the achievements and excellent work. It was exciting to once again follow through MakSPH’s development from a Department, to an Institute, later into a School and now, leadership and staff are working hard to register the School as a College of Public Health. ‘Let us continue working together to coin the School of Public Health as the College of Public Health, together we can achieve this milestone too.’ Prof. Bazeyo therefore referred to the school as ‘a rolling School of Public Health’. More so, the School of Public Health under Prof. Bazeyo’s leadership is currently running 114 Projects which in addition to the work already being done by the students and faculty are richly contributing to further research in and development of the communities in Uganda and beyond.
These projects provide employment to a human resource of 231 individuals. The management and staff of the School of Public Health have also registered further development of the infrastructural systems at MakSPH sharing the developments in some of the Kampala suburbs including Kasangati, Rakai and Kololo School of Public Health Annexes. Some of the projects housed in these annexes include; ResilientAfrica Network (RAN) www.ranlab.org, Center for Tobacco Control in Africa http://ctc-africa.org/, Monitoring Evaluation and Technical Support (METS) which Prof. Bazeyo clearly highlighted and thanked for all the efforts towards further supporting MakSPH. ‘All these projects have continued to richly contribute to supporting the operations of the School of Public Health as a service institution’ he added. Prof. Bazeyo also noted that although some of the buildings in these annexes have not yet been fully renovated, the roofs are made of asbestos thus strong and long lasting. He noted that these should be some of the projects the MakSPH Dean Elect, Associate Professor Rhoda Wanyenze can start with or even plan to include in her to-do-list so that adequate and ambient working space is fully secured for all the MakSPH staff.
Prof. Bazeyo thanked everyone who has worked with him as part of the ‘Winning Team’ to register all the good work done by MakSPH. Among the people he openly and proudly talked about were; the Past Dean MakSPH and RAN Technical Advisor, Prof. David Serwadda who also chaired this session, Deputy Dean, Associate Prof. Christopher Garimoi Orach, the Registrar’s Office, Finance Management Unit, Grants writing team and the support staff who selflessly serve MakSPH. Prof. Bazeyo had a personalized plaque for all the staff who have since been working with him, majority of whom are support staff. This gesture to publicly recognize majority of the support staff he has worked with, left all participants additionally applauding the simplicity and heart of appreciation in Prof. Bazeyo.
‘It is not common that we serve with a team and as we are leaving the leadership role, we passionately thank them and recognize them in a public gathering, thank you William for being too open and generous too’ Prof. Serwadda shared.
Some of the Key Highlights from Prof. Bazeyo’s presentation included the following;
My 10 Point Program!
- The fact that MakSPH has thus far nurtured and supported 24 staff members to attain the qualification of a PHD.
- The infrastructure including furnished office space, two high power/voltage generators, educated and experienced human resource, strong systems among others put in place at MakSPH to further support learning, research and development.
- That given the growing community need and thus number of those in service, there is need to construct for MakSPH a bigger home and Makerere University Main Administration has offered the School of Public Health space within the Main Campus to construct this home. ‘I am more than happy that as I hand over the leadership of this institution, I have left in cash more than 75% of the needed funds to build up to completion a six-storey building to house the School of Public Health. It is now up to the new administration to keep the ball rolling’ noted a smiling Prof. Bazeyo. Having worked with Prof. Bazeyo for years now, I have personally started emulating his resource mobilization skills for community service.
- That the key success factors which have enabled Prof. Bazeyo to excel in serving MakSPH include; remaining resilient in all situations, creating a team and knowing that team which you work with but above all trusting them and their capabilities in effectively performing, working on personality related issues- ‘what do you want people to see you as? A leader, a manager, a boss?’. It is important that you as a leader have an answer to this question above so that you work towards achieving your set goals and ambitions too.
- The fact that MakSPH has managed to train and sustain several non-Makerere University officially employed staff members through encouraging and supporting resource mobilization.
- That MakSPH under the Geo Health Hub in Eastern Africa had recently installed equipment at the roof top of the current building to monitor air pollution in Kampala and the nearby suburbs. This is the second of its kind in Uganda, the first being used and operated at/by the US Embassy in Uganda. The data collected from this study will inform not only policy but also the further management of the city and later, the country at large.
- If you keep yesterday’s anger, you will most definitely loose tomorrow’s benefits. ‘Let go and move on working to achieve’, added a smiling Prof. Bazeyo.
- It is good to have friends, but make and have friends who make a difference in or add value to your life.
- Human beings are not easy to lead and work with and this can be a challenge to operations but never give up on anyone. Remain consistent and follow-up on every team member because Together Each Achieves More (TEAM) but also each individual has the potential to meaningfully contribute to the team. It is important that we explore that potential to the fullest. He emphasized the importance of not holding people to your first impression of them because ‘you will not reap the benefits of what they have to offer tomorrow’. Always endeavor to dig deeper to understand human beings as you deal with them and this will inform your ability to leverage from then, Prof. Bazeyo cautioned presentation attendees.
- Prof. Bazeyo also shared about the challenges in managing donor money, which comes with ‘high expectations’ and need to ‘maintain the credibility of the institution’. This he said calls for a lot of integrity and professionalism.
Assoc. Prof. Rhoda Wanyenze thanked Prof. Bazeyo for the hard and committed work noting that she was definitely not going to fit in Prof. Bazeyo’s shoes as the next MakSPH Dean. She said, ‘I will not attempt to fit in Prof. Bazeyo’s shoes, I will come in with my own pair of shoes, slightly smaller in size, a little bit brief/shorter, high off the floor and have the notorious habit of letting people know I am coming before I actually arrive to serve MakSPH. Prof. Bazeyo has left behind a rich legacy which we will all work towards further learning from and uplifting for the benefit of all of us at MakSPH and outside. As she concluded her remarks, she added that the success of all the past leaders will also be seen in their ability to support the Dean Elect to succeed.
Prof. Charles Ibingira, the Principal Makerere University College of Health Sciences also hailed Prof. Bazeyo for his hard work noting that what could have led to all the achievements at MakSPH was the great and intact team Prof. Bazeyo put together, nurtured and closely worked with. ‘This MakSPH team is a strong one, let us all emulate them so that we develop and grow together as the College of Health Sciences spreading out to the Main Campus and other units too within this our Mother institution’ Prof. Ibingira shared.
The Makerere University Council representative at this engagement, Mr. Bruce Kabaasa, Chairperson of the Appointments Board also joined all speakers to sincerely thank Prof. Bazeyo for the work well done, noting that he was also happy with the growth and development of the School under Dean Bazeyo’s selfless, open and committed leadership. ‘I pray that the new leadership takes advantage of the already developed firm foundation left behind not only by Dean Bazeyo but also by the past leaders of the School. As the University Administration, we will continue to support the School to further grow as a service provision institution in Uganda and the globe at large’ added Mr. Kabaasa.
He also congratulated the School for leading by example, achieving despite all odds and encouraged staff to keep up the team work he has found and experienced among them. Mr. Kabaasa challenged the School to come out to help and support other units of the University to grow at the same pace, leaving behind no one in Makerere. Additionally, he applauded the College of Health Sciences as a whole for the good work done. As he came to the close of his remarks, he introduced his colleagues Honorable Thomas Tayebwa, Member of Parliament for Ruhinda County North, Mitooma District and Associate Professor Sarah Ssali, School of Gender Studies, College of Humanities and Social Sciences. He thanked all participants for turning up in big numbers to listen to and engage with Prof. Bazeyo, specially thanking his colleagues for joining in the same engagement. This engagement was also attended by the University Director of Quality Assurance Dr. Vincent A Ssembatya. Thank you all for continuously supporting Makerere University College of Health Sciences School of Public Health http://musph.mak.ac.ug/.
After all this sharing, participants were officially invited to a mouthwatering cocktail, sharing bites, drinks and cake in honor of and thanking Dean Bazeyo for ably leading the MakSPH team for the last 8 years.
Dean Bazeyo a.k.a WBaz is also on Twitter @williambaz, please connect with him.
Long Live the School of Public Health and all its employees, alumni and well-wishers as ‘We Build for the Future’.
Compiled by Harriet Adong, Communications Manager at ResilientAfrica Network (RAN) www.ranlab.org
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General
The 3rd Fundis and Technicians sensitization event and exhibition held successfully
Published
2 hours agoon
November 2, 2024The 3rd annual Fundis and Technicians sensitization event and exhibition by manufacturers of building materials organized by the Department Architecture and Physical Planning at the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology (CEDAT), Makerere University came to a close with a call for increased partnerships between training institutions and the community.
The event that attracted 200 participants including masons, fundis, painters, builders, metal and electrical fabricators ran from Thursday 24th to Friday 25th October 2024 at CEDAT. It was supported by several stakeholders and was characterized by training sessions and an exhibition of building materials by different companies that make cement, paint, water tanks tiles and many more.
Prof. Henry Alinaitwe, the Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Finance and Administration represented the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe at the opening of the training. In his remarks, he extended appreciation to the technicians for accepting to take part in the training which he said was key in ensuring that they gain from continuous learning. Prof. Alinaitwe observed that although some of them did not get through formal training, it was important that they took part in such training programs to keep abreast of the developments in the construction industry where they undertake the bulk of the work as masons, technicians, plumbers, and metal fabricators.
‘Keep improving, we need to up our game in terms of quality’, he said while making reference to the need for quality output. He cautioned them on issues of cost and cheating of their clients by making realistic costs. ‘We need to cost the work well taking into account the materials, the labor, the equipment used, and the overheads’. The other area that needed to be taken care of by the technicians included time management, which reflects on attitudes towards work, team work. While addressing the gathering in his capacity as Chairman of the Engineers Registration Board, Prof. Alinaitwe said the upcoming engineering Registration Bill, if approved, has a provision for the registration of all artisans and hence the need to have the minimum requirements for the stakeholders to be registered. He also stressed the need to bring on board as more women as possible. ‘We want to see more women, who can do some aspects in construction better than men like painting.
Prof. Moses Musinguzi, the Principal of the College of Engineering, Design, Art and Technology while welcoming the trainees to the college said the training is a good initiative that will help address challenge of skill and work match. He encouraged the trainees to do smart work, and take due consideration of ethics and customer care. He encouraged the department to extend the training opportunity to other units of the college and the university and also make it more formal, as part and parcel of the training program of the college in liaison with bodies like UBTEB.
Assoc. Prof. Kizito Maria Kasule, the Deputy Principal CEDAT while appreciating the initiative of the department said countries like Germany have apprenticeship training that help the training of students to gain skills equivalent to those acquired while in formal institutions of learning. He said the academia in Uganda is increasingly recognizing the importance of the informal sector in the growth of the country. ‘We need to learn from you. Almost 90% of the people in the construction industry have been informally trained’. He said by learning from each other, the two sectors jointly make a contribution towards the development of the country.
Dr. Amin Tamale Kiggundu, the head of the Department of Architecture and Physical Planning said the initiative, a community outreach program of the college started three years ago in the year 2022 with 60 Fundis and masons, in 2023, the number was increased to 120 Fundis and the current 2024, was 200 Fundis of various categories, including painters, builders, metal fabricators, plumbers and electrical fabricators. He said this community outreach program aims at sharing the accumulated scientific knowledge in building, design and construction technologies at CEDAT, sharing the expertise, knowledge and experiences with communities in greater Kampala and hence bridging the existing knowledge and skills gap between the training institutions and the communities.
The 21st century is characterized by collaboration, partnerships, and establishment of knowledge economies. He said based on the trainings held so far, it is clear that partnerships between the training institutions and the communities were possible especially the Fundis who are closer to the communities. ‘We also want to learn from the Fundi’s experiences, how they are able to connect to the communities in some cases better than those who have gone through the training institutions’, he said. He further noted that the majority of fundis are young people that need to be supported with skills and other ways of nurturing them. The dream of the department, he said is to introduce an open door policy that allows fundis and other university students to come to learn.
Several organizations supported the event and participated in the exhibition and they included Habitat for Humanity, Uganda, Green Building Council Uganda, The National Building Board, Uganda Clays Limited, Centenary Bank, Steel and Tube Industries Ltd, Simba Cement, Plascon, Goodwill, Cresttanks among others.
General
MURBS has declared 13.40% interest on members’ balances for the financial year that ended on 30th June 2024.
Published
3 days agoon
October 30, 2024By: Ritah Namisango
Dr. Elizabeth Patricia Nansubuga, Chairperson of the Makerere University Retirement Benefits Scheme (MURBS) Board of Trustees, announced this milestone during the 14th Annual General Meeting (AGM) for the year 2023/24 held on Thursday, 24th October 2024, at Makerere University Main Campus, School of Public Health Auditorium.
The AGM attracted various stakeholders, including trustees, Audit Committee Chairperson CPA David Ssenoga, Board Evaluation Consultant Vincent Kaheeru, URBRA Representative Mark Lotukei, Audit Committee members, co-opted members, and university administrators.
Presenting the performance report, on behalf of the Board of Trustees, Dr. Nansubuga highlighted that this is the highest interest declared by the scheme in the past five years, and she anticipates continued improvements. She noted that for the previous financial year, which ended in June 2023, the Board of Trustees declared an interest an interest of 12.34%.
Dr Nansubuga also announced that the scheme has achieved a Net Investment Income of UGX 44.6 billion, far higher than the UGX34.4 billion collected in Contributions during the year.
The Chairperson of the Board also revealed that the fund value had grown from UGX352.4 billion recorded at the end of the last financial year to UGX409.2 billion, indicating an increase of 16.1%.
“By 30th June 2023, MURBS had a fund value of UGX 352.4 billion. The Board of Trustees targeted Fund growth of 17%, and I am glad to inform you, that the fund value of MURBS, as per the Audited Financial Statements of 30th June 2024 is UGX 409.2 billion, which is an increase of 16.1%. This achievement was made possible by strategic periodical activities undertaken by the Board and our fund managers, supported by the strong oversight committees of the Board,” she reported.
She attributed the positive growth to factors such as improved debt recovery, operational efficiency, timely remittance of contributions by the sponsor (Makerere University), an increase in project and contract contributions, and the recovery of UGX8.85 billion in debts.
Dr. Nansubuga also expressed gratitude to Makerere University, the scheme’s sponsor, for consistently remitting contributions, a key factor that has significantly contributed to MURBS’ smooth operation. “I am happy to announce that the sponsor-Makerere University remitted your retirement benefits for the financial year 2023/24,” she said.
In the same development, Dr. Nansubuga reported that MURBS registered a legal victory against Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) over a real estate investment in Sonde undertaken in 2019, and which URA sought to tax heavily. She notified the AGM that MURBS won the case and was awarded costs which also set a precedent.
“On behalf of the Board of Trustees, I am pleased to inform you that during the financial year, we received a favorable outcome on a key court case. How did we end up with this case? In 2019, MURBS invested in real estate, we bought land in Sonde,” Dr Nansubuga explained.
“Uganda Revenue Authority (URA) then charged us with a tax assessment worth UGX600 million. It has been four (4) years in the tax appeals tribunal. Since then, the lawyers, the former and current trustees, have been appearing before the appeals tribunal, but in December 2023, MURBS won the case. We challenged URA, and this case was awarded with costs. URA has to pay MURBS. We therefore saved UGX600 million,” she added.
In terms of governance, Dr Nansubuga said that the scheme made changes in the board. Initially, the trustees were six and they needed a seventh member, and following a competitive race, they recruited another trustee; CPA Edina Rugumayo who has over thirty years in accounting.
“In terms of governance, we continue to uphold good governance practices and we align with international standards. Last year during the presentation, I said we were six and we needed to have the seventh trustee because the Board composition is supposed to be seven,” she explained.
“So, following a competitive process, we recruited an independent trustee. It was a very competitive position. You must have served on board which has over UGX50 billion. So, from that process, we were able to recruit CPA Edna Rugumayo Simbwa. She is a certified public accountant with over thirty years of experience in accounting, taxation, and corporate governance,” she mentioned.
She also thanked other stakeholders for making sure that MURBS activities run smoothly. These entities include Makerere University, KPMG, Gen Africa, Arcadia Advocates, Zamara, URBRA, and Stanbic Bank among others.
While discussing investments, Dr. Nansubuga mentioned that 86% of MURBS’ funds are currently invested in government bonds, but added that the Board is exploring diversification to reduce risks.
“86% percent of our money is invested in government bonds, and sometimes, you do not have to put all your eggs in one basket, there is a high concentration of risk. so that is one of the key material risks that we want to address to reduce the amount we have in government securities. We want to diversify our portfolio and avoid investing heavily in government securities. The Board will venture into other fields in order to earn money or return on investment from the diverse undertakings,” she said.
In terms of membership, Dr. Nansubuga reported a 4.4% increase, with the number of members rising from 8,229 to 8,590. She attributed this growth to the reinstatement of in-house beneficiaries and an increase in project and contract staff.
Dr. Kakuba also thanked the sponsor-Makerere University for remitting the membership contributions timely which has helped the scheme to grow.
Dr. Godwin Kakuba -Secretary, MURBS Board of Trustees, who presented the record of the 13th Annual General Meeting stressed that the AGM climaxes a financial year and the Board of Trustee has been vigilant on this and has not missed any AGM for 14 years now.
“We applaud the sponsor because many of these positives in the chairperson’s report can only be attributed to the support by the sponsor through fulfilling the obligation of remitting members’ contributions to the scheme,” he added.
Partner Asad Ssenoga, an independent auditor who audited the scheme said that he was impressed with the level of compliance that the scheme exhibited in all aspects. He said they focused on ensuring that the member contributions are supported with statements and allocated to members appropriately.
“Overall we were satisfied with the work we did on the audit, the numbers that were presented by the Chairperson are the correct numbers that we audited. We were comfortable with those numbers, due process was followed during the audit,” he said.
Mr. Mark Lotukei who represented the CEO of Uganda Retirement Benefits Regulatory Authority (URBRA) thanked the Trustees for always prioritizing governance, which has helped them to reach several milestones.
“As URBRA, we look at governance as the biggest component of our compliance. MURBS Trustees from the former to the current, have taken governance as the most important aspect. We really encourage them to continue with this good practice because governance informs all the other aspects,” he said.
Mr. Arthur Kibira, a member in attendance, expressed his appreciation for the Board’s efforts. He urged them to explore higher-risk investments for potentially greater returns. He expressed concern over the scheme’s heavy reliance on government bonds.
“Dr Elizabeth Nansubuga, I want to congratulate you, and your team and also congratulate ourselves. But, I want to believe that there is room for improvement. I am one of those who do not believe that the sky is the limit, we are limited by our own thinking. I am thinking that high risks give high returns. Is there a way of managing those risks, so that we could push this 13.40% interest to a figure much higher? If we do so, we shall say we have learnt how to manage risks,”, he guided.
General
Makerere University at the 2024 O.R. Tambo Africa Research Chairs Annual Gathering in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso
Published
3 days agoon
October 30, 2024By
Mak EditorThe Research Chairs concept is similar to Centers of Excellence (for instance in supporting world-class research in a priority area), but also has many distinguishing features. Most notably, it recognizes individual excellence, leadership and talent. The O.R. Tambo Africa Research Chairs Initiative (ORTARChI) builds on the work of Oliver Tambo, a prominent South African and pan-Africanist with a science education background, who believed in creating change through education and in cooperation and solidarity among African nations. The Initiative focuses on celebrating his legacy in building knowledge-based economies for the advancement of Africa.
ORTARChI builds on and leverages existing continental frameworks and interventions geared towards institutional capacity strengthening; recruitment and retention of excellent researchers; and incentives to support research that contributes to socio-economic and transformative development.
Ten (10) O.R. Tambo Africa Research Chairs across seven (7) countries in Africa, namely; Botswana, Burkina Faso, Ghana, Mozambique, Tanzania, Uganda and Zambia have been selected for funding through a rigorous and competitive two-stage review process. These research chairs are focused on research priorities identified by each host institution in conjunction with, especially the Science Councils, and in alignment with AU Agenda 2063 and STISA 2024.
Prof. Noble Banadda from the College of Agricultural and Environmental Sciences had been inaugurated as one of the first 10 (ten) Oliver Tambo (ORTARChi) Chairs. Unfortunately, Prof. Banadda (R.I.P) passed on in July 2021, which created a vacuum. To ensure that Uganda and Makerere University continue to tap into the ORTARChi, we are glad to announce the appointment of Associate Professor David Meya from the College of Health Sciences at Makerere University for the purpose. The appointment will attract USD 170,000 annually for 5 years for graduate research with a target of training 5-6 PhDs, 10-15 Post-doctoral fellows and 10-12 Masters of Medicine and Master of Science Students at Makerere University and Mbarara University of Science and Technology.
Makerere University has had the pleasure of attending 2024 O.R. Tambo Africa Research Chairs Annual Gathering in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The annual gathering is co-hosted by the Joseph Ki-Zerbo University, National Research and Innovation Fund for Development (FONRID) and the National Research Foundation (NRF) of South Africa. The theme for this year’s gathering is: “African Sovereignty: A Catalyst for Research Collaborations and Social Impact in the Continent“. At the annual gathering, Uganda was represented by Associate Prof. David Meya (Uganda Chair Elect, ORTARChI), Prof. Henry Alinaitwe (Deputy Vice Chancellor Finance and Administration, Mak), Associate Prof. Robert Wamala (Director, Research and Graduate Training) and Dr. Martin Ongol (Ag. Executive Secretary, UNCST). Assoc. Prof. David Meya – ORTARChI Chair Elect – is from Makerere University’s School of Medicine at the College of Health Sciences.
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