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Ramathan Ggoobi, the Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury (PSST) and Dr. Michael Atingi-Ego, the Bank of Uganda Deputy Governor are headlining this year’s Africa Financial Markets Index (AFMI) Report Presentation and Economic Outlook Forum.
Now in its seventh year, the Africa Financial Markets Index (AFMI) is a collaboration between the Absa Group and the Official Monetary and Financial Institutions Forum (OMFIF). Each year, the AFMI assesses 28 African nations on economic development using specific indicators that consider market accessibility, transparency, and openness.
Ggoobi who is the chief guest and Dr. Atingi-Ego, the keynote speaker, are both accomplished economists and policy analysts in their own right. They will lead other economic analysts, researchers and business leaders to discuss the findings of this year’s index and its implications on the Ugandan economy in 2024 and beyond.
Jeff Gable, the Head of Macro and Fixed Income Research and Chief Economist at Absa Group will present this year’s report. To discuss the findings and implications of the report, will be Dr. Sarah Ssewanyana, the Executive Director of the Economic Policy Research Centre; Patrick Ayota, the Managing Director of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF); Alan N. Lwetabe, (CFA, CAIA, CIPM), the Director Investments at the Deposit Protection Fund of Uganda as well as Dickson Ssembuya, the Ag. CEO and Director, Research & Market Development at Uganda’s Capital Markets Authority.
This high-powered session will be moderated by Prof. Samuel Sejjaaka, a partner at Sejjaaka, Kaawaase & Company, Certified Public Accountants as well as Country Team Leader/Principal of the MAT ABACUS Business School in Uganda.
The #AFMIndex has become an essential tool and source of insights into the performance of financial markets across the continent for investors and policymakers. The report is a valuable guide into the market dynamics of various African nations and guiding investment decisions. It also provides an opportunity to learn from the financial market progressions of other countries in Africa.
Ever since the AFMI was launched in 2017, Uganda has significantly improved its position, debuting in the 10th position with a score of less than 50 but has since risen to the 4th position in the whole of Africa, as per the 2022 index.
According to David Wandera, FCCA, the Executive Director & Head of Financial Markets at Absa Bank Uganda, Uganda’s climbing performance has been driven by a number of reforms such as the “changes to the Primary dealers’ system in 2020 that has sparked a transformation and increased volumes of Treasury bills/bonds traded in the market by over 300% since the reforms were introduced in 2020”.
“In addition to introducing primary dealer reforms, at the start of the index, Uganda’s longest-dated bond was 15 years and that was improved upon by introducing the 20-year bond, which included the number of choices available for investors to choose from. Another significant change was the amendment of the Withholding Tax regime relating to bonds. There was a reduction in tax rates for longer-dated bonds to come closer to where other East African countries are – specifically reducing withholding tax on bonds that are 10 years and above from 20% to 10%. This move has not only increased the amount of bonds being traded but also the overall interest rates for longer-dated bonds in the market as interest for these bonds has significantly increased,” Mr. Wandera told CEO East Africa Magazine in an interview.
Profiles: Meet the #AFMIndex2024 speakers in full
Ramathan Ggoobi
Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury (PSST)
Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development
Ramathan Ggoobi is an accomplished economist and policy analyst currently serving as the Permanent Secretary, Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and Secretary to Treasury of the Republic of Uganda.
He has spent most of his career teaching economics at different universities, particularly at Makerere University Business School (MUBS) since January 2008 until he was appointed PS/ST in July 2021. He also headed a think-tank—the MUBS Economic Forum—that made groundbreaking research and caused public debates which generated viable policy-related solutions to some of Uganda’s economic challenges.
Between September 2017 and September 2020, Ramathan served on the Board of Directors of the Uganda Development Corporation (UDC), the investment arm of the Government of Uganda. At the end of the term, he was rated the best Director both by fellow Directors and Management. Between June 2020 and July 2021, he served as a Senior Presidential Advisor on the National Economy and accomplished several tasks assigned to him by H.E. the President.
Ggoobi has consulted for several organisations including the International Labour Organisation (ILO); Overseas Development Institute (ODI) UK; Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES); Financial Sector Deepening Uganda (FSDU); Action Coalition for Development and Environment (ACODE), and many others.
As PS/ST, Ramathan has set his agenda to reform the national budget to make it more responsive to national development priorities, improve appraisal and implementation of national development projects, and ensure accountability with measurable results as opposed to paper accountability.
Amongst other qualifications, he holds an MA. Economic Policy and Planning and a A (Economics Major) (Hons), both from Makerere University. He is also a PhD Candidate, at Walden University, USA.
Dr. Michael Atingi-Ego
Deputy Governor
Bank of Uganda
Dr. Michael Atingi-Ego is a Ugandan economist and Deputy Governor of the Bank of Uganda since April 23, 2020.
At the time of his appointment he was the Executive Director of the Macroeconomic and Financial Management Institute of Eastern and Southern Africa (MEFMI) from September 2018. MEFMI is a multinational capacity-building institute based in Harare, Zimbabwe.
At MEFMI, he spearheaded initiatives to adapt the product offering to the fast-evolving capacity building landscape for sustained relevance to its membership.
Serving as Deputy Director in the African Department of the IMF since June 2008, he was instrumental in enhancing the effectiveness of capacity development; modernising monetary policy frameworks in developing countries; and improving macroeconomic statistics in sub-Saharan Africa. In addition, he was deeply involved in the Fund’s work on data management across the institution besides providing strategic guidance to many IMF African country teams on program and surveillance work.
He started his career at the Bank of Uganda in 1984 and rose to the role of Executive Director of Research. His research and publications focused on macroeconomic and financial policies and statistics. He was an eminent resource in capacity building and a consultant on monetary operations and balance of payments in east, west, and southern Africa.
Mr. Atingi-Ego holds a PhD in Economics from Liverpool University (1996), an MSc. Economics in International Economics and Banking from Cardiff Business School, University of Wales (1991), and a BSc. Economics from Makerere University.
Prof. Samuel Sejjaaka
Partner, Sejjaaka, Kaawaase & Company, Certified Public Accountants
Country Team Leader/Principal, MAT ABACUS Business School
Prof. Samuel Sejjaaka is a partner at Sejjaaka, Kaawaase & Company, Certified Public Accountants and Country Team Leader/Principal of the MAT ABACUS Business School in Uganda. He was appointed Non-Executive Director and Board Chair of Monitor Publications Limited on 1st February 2022.
He has over 25 years of experience in management and directorship, including governance and oversight of public interest companies, supervision of assurance functions and strategy formulation for growth.
Prof. Sejjaaka is the current Chairman of the Petroleum Revenue Investment Reserve Advisory Committee, UAP Financial Services, African Queen No.1 Limited and Pristine Foods Limited. He also sits on the Board of UAP Life Insurance, served as Chairman of Uganda Development Bank Limited (2012-2018), Board Member of Stanbic Bank Uganda Limited (2007-2017), and Biyinzika Poultry Industries Limited (2016-2021).
Prof. Sejjaaka previously lectured at Uganda’s oldest tertiary institution, Makerere University (later the Makerere University Business School) and rose to the position of Deputy Principal (1991-2014).
Dr. Sarah Ssewanyana
Executive Director
Economic Policy Research Centre
Dr. Sarah Ssewanyana is the Executive Director of the Economic Policy Research Centre, a position she has held since 2009. Dr. Ssewanyana joined the Centre in March 2003 as a Senior Research Fellow and later served as the Principal Research Fellow in 2008.
Previously, Dr. Ssewanyana taught undergraduate and graduate students at the Institute of Statistics and Applied Economics, Makerere University. She was an external examiner to masters and PhD dissertations for Uganda Management Institute, Makerere University, and University of Sydney, Australia.
Dr. Ssewanyana holds a PhD in Agricultural Economics from the University of Sydney, Australia; Masters in Science in Agricultural Economics from the University of Manitoba, Canada; and a Bachelor of Statistics (Hons) from Makerere University. She has steered EPRC to be recognized as one of the globally recognized policy think tanks.
Dr. Ssewanyana has extensively researched poverty, food security, health, education, and social service delivery, among others. She has a number of peer-reviewed publications and working papers in the above research areas. She has served on various boards and committees for reputable agencies.
Patrick Ayota
Managing Director
National Social Security Fund (NSSF)
Patrick is the Managing Director of the National Social Security Fund (NSSF) – which he joined in July 2011. He is also in charge of the Fund’s Strategy Function.
He was previously the Chief Financial Officer, a position he held for 6 years until November 2017. Patrick has been at the forefront of various projects at the Fund, which he steered successfully, including the strategy function’s setup and the rollout of the balance performance scorecard.
A respected thought leader, Patrick was named runner-up at the 2017 National CFO Awards organised by ACCA and Deloitte Uganda.
Before joining the Fund, he was the Finance Director for Barclays Bank Uganda (now Absa Bank Uganda). He has extensive experience in accounting and finance management that has been attained in various roles in Uganda and USA.
Patrick is a Certified Public Accountant (CPA). He holds an MBA from the University of South Carolina (USA) and a Bachelor of Science in Finance from Liberty University, Virginia (USA).
Alan N. Lwetabe, (CFA, CAIA, CIPM)
Director, Investments
Deposit Protection Fund of Uganda (DPF)
Alan N. Lwetabe, (CFA, CAIA, CIPM) joined the Deposit Protection Fund of Uganda on July 01, 2021, in the capacity of Director Investments. He joins the DPF from the Central Bank of Uganda where he was an Assistant Director in charge of foreign reserves management. At the DPF, Alan oversees the Fund’s investment programs including research, evaluation and selection of investment vehicles and aligning investment selections with the Fund’s goals and risk tolerance.
Alan trained as an economist and is an investment professional with over 15 years’ of experience in the industry. He holds a BA and MA in Economics from Makerere University. He further holds the highly regarded Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) qualifications. Over the years, he has developed deep expertise in advising institutional investors in managing pension assets, helping asset owners navigate private markets, real estate investment and structured debt transactions.
Alan is a board member of the CFA Society East Africa and a regular member of the CFA Institute, USA and CAIA Association, USA. He brings to the Fund deep expertise, wide-ranging investment experience and technical skill in financial analysis, portfolio management and macroeconomic analysis gained in his different capacities at the Central Bank.
Jeff Gable
Head of Macro and Fixed Income Research and Chief Economist
Absa Group
Jeff Gable is the Head of Macro and Fixed Income Research and Chief Economist at Absa Group. His top-rated analyst team covers fundamentals-based macro and market strategy research on South Africa and more than a dozen markets across sub-Saharan Africa. At the 2019 Spire Awards, the Absa FICC Research Team was awarded first place in the research categories of SA Economics, SA Fixed Income, SA FX, SA Credit, and Africa Economics and also won Best Research House. Jeff joined Absa in early 2007 from Barclays in London, having spent his earlier career at Deutsche Bank (London), the International Monetary Fund (DC) and the Bank of Canada (Ottawa).