Kampala, (UG):- President Yoweri Museveni early this month confirmed the appointment of Professor Moses Muhwezi as the substantive Principal of Makerere University Business School (MUBS).
According to the instrument of appointment signed by the President on November 3, Prof Muhwezi will serve a five-year term at the Nakawa-based institution.
“I Yoweri Kaguta Tibuhaburwa Museveni, do hereby appoint Muhwezi Moses (prof) on local contract s principal of Makerere University Business School for a period of five years with effect from the date of assumption of duty. This appointment takes immediate effect,” the instrument reads in part.
This appointment comes after nearly 17 months in which Muhwezi served as acting principal, following the end of former principal Wasswa Balunywa’s term. During this period, the Makerere University Business Academic Staff Association (MUBASA) and the student body were actively pushing the government to make the appointment substantive, citing the stability and positive reforms Muhwezi has introduced.
Early this year, students and staff at the Makerere University branch urged the government to get clarity on the substantive Principal to ease tensions at the school.
Mr Brain Muyomba, a lecturer at MUBS, noted that the confirmation of Prof. Muhwezi as Principal is timely and has spared MUBS from a potentially awkward situation. He explained that with the Acting Principal’s contract as Deputy Principal nearing its end, the institution was at risk of facing a leadership gap.
“Imagine the institution being in a leadership crisis, without a substantive Principal and no substantive Deputy,” he remarked. He added that the past year saw increased lobbying for the position, creating tension and instability at MUBS, which this confirmation should now resolve.
Muhwezi’s appointment makes him only the second principal in the school’s 28-year history, as the position had previously been held solely by Balunywa since the institution’s establishment in 1997. During Muhwezi’s tenure as acting principal, a faction of staff opposed Balunywa’s reappointment.
About Prof Muhwezi, the new Principal
Prof. Muhwezi was appointed Acting Deputy Principal of MUBS in 2014 and confirmed as the substantive Deputy Principal in 2019.
Previously, he served as the Dean of the Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business Administration and led both the Department of Procurement and Supply Chain Management and the Department of Management Science at MUBS.
According to information from the institution’s website, he holds a PhD in Public Procurement from the University of Twente, Netherlands; a Master of Philosophy in Public Procurement from the Maastricht School of Management, Netherlands; an MBA in Accounting and Finance from Makerere University; and a Bachelor’s degree in Commerce (Accounting) from Makerere University, among other qualifications.
Prof. Muhwezi is also a member of several professional bodies, including the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply (MCIPS), the Institute of Public Procurement Professionals in Uganda (IPPU), the Dutch Procurement Association, the Industrial Marketing and Purchasing Group (IMP), and the Technical Committee of Procurement Experts for COMESA States.
He previously served as Vice Chairperson of the Chartered Institute of Purchasing and Supply, Uganda Chapter.
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