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Uganda Breweries Limited (UBL), on Thursday bid farewell to Japheth Katto, commonly known as “Chief”, the former brewer’s board Chairman, who has been at the helm of the organisation since 2018.
At the farewell dinner that took place at Kampala Serena Hotel, Katto also passed the mantle of UBL Board Chairman to Jimmy Mugerwa.
Mugerwa applauded Katto’s leadership and the wise counsel he brought to the organisation.
“I had the privilege to sit with you on the East African Breweries and Uganda Breweries boards, and I would like to say that I was amazed by the expertise and the wide counsel you brought. I am confident that whenever you go, you will continue being your best version,” said Mugerwa.
He added: “I am not Japheth and I cannot promise to do what he has done. But we are an organisation of values and people. And since these will not be going with Japheth, I can only promise that I will try to be a Japheth of sorts.”
The UBL Managing Director Andrew Kilonzo hailed Katto for making his work easier from the time he rejoined the brewery as Managing Director and on behalf of all staff, wished him the very best in his new endeavours.
“It has been an honour serving under your astute leadership and guidance and I have come to rely heavily on your counsel. Thank you for making my job, a little bit easier every day. On behalf of everyone at Uganda Breweries, we wish you the very best on the next chronicles in your chiefdom,” Kilonzo said.
The State Minister of Trade, Industry, and Cooperatives (Industry) applauded UBL for being among the top three taxpayers in Uganda, contributing hundreds of billions in taxes to the Government.
He cited at last Financial Year in which UBL contributed UGX 430 billion in taxes.
“Uganda Breweries contributed UGX430 billion to the treasury. That is equivalent to the budget of the Ministry of ICT, the Ministry of Tourism, and the Department of Minerals combined. On behalf of the Government, I thank you very much,” he said.
He added that the UBL’s Corporate Social Responsibility has extended water to many areas in this country, including Butanda Sub-County in Ndorwa in Kabale District.
Some of UBL milestones under Japheth Katto include growing investment in farming communities to the tune of UGX 52 billion annually from UGX40 billion. The brewer now sources 95% of its raw materials locally from Uganda, making UBL one of the largest contributors to the Buy Uganda Build Uganda (BUBU) initiative.
Minister Balaam to acquire Maria Kiwanuka’s Radio One Mbale frequency licenseIn the last 4 years, UBL entered a partnership with the Ministry of Water, and other private players like Stanbic Bank and Total Energies to run the Running Out of Trees (ROOTs) program that has seen close to 17 million trees planted in Uganda. Japheth also oversaw the biggest public-private sector partnerships when Uganda Breweries supported the Government to scale up vaccination and fasten the economy reopening process during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Katto was also hailed for being “big on diversity and inclusion; championing great strides in efforts to narrow down the male-female gap in our workspace”.
“Our senior management has over 50% women at the moment and we are working to extend the same principles down our value chain. The brewery now grants a 6-month maternity leave period and 1-month paternity leave to our employees – the first of its kind in Uganda. In the disability inclusion space, Uganda Breweries has made a deliberate effort to ensure that 10% of all new hires starting in 2021 are People with Disabilities and it’s been religiously enforced thanks to Katto’s guidance,” the company said of his leadership.
Who is Japheth Katto?
In 1998, after a career of over 15 years in accountancy, company liquidation, company investigation and financial services regulation in the UK, Japheth was appointed the first CEO of Uganda’s Capital Markets Authority, a position he held for 16 years. He has over the years acquired experience and expertise in accountancy, leadership, financial services policy and regulation and corporate governance. He has a particular passion for corporate governance and has written and lectured on the subject. He is a co-author/editor of the book “Corporate Governance in Uganda: Principles and Practices” published by Fountain Publishers. He was also a co-author of a book Pensions in East Africa published by the World Bank and available on their website.
Japheth is the Managing Partner of Japheth Katto Consult (JKC), a partnership of leading leaders and corporate governance practitioners. JKC undertakes board/trustees and senior executives training and development, board evaluations, board searches and board remuneration surveys.
He among other roles, previously chaired the Board of Stanbic Uganda Holdings Ltd (a subsidiary of Standard Bank Group of South Africa). He has until recently chaired the board of Uganda Breweries Ltd and was a board member of East African Breweries plc (listed on the Nairobi and Uganda Stock Exchanges), a subsidiary of Diageo plc (listed on the London and New York Stock Exchanges).
His other previous leadership experience includes being a member of the Global Council of the Association of Chartered Certified Accountants (ACCA) for 6 years until November 2018. He also served for 9 years on the board and committees of the New York-based International Federation of Accountants. He also previously served on the board of the Duke of Edinburgh International Award Uganda (Chairman) and Junior Achievement Uganda (Vice Chairman).
Japheth was a Commissioner on the Commission of Enquiry into the Closure of Ugandan Banks (2000) and chaired the Ministry of Finance’s Pension Reform and Regulation Committee which resulted in the establishment of a pensions regulator.
Japheth is a B.Com honours graduate of Makerere University (Uganda), a fellow of ACCA and a member of the Institute of Certified Public Accountants of Uganda.