KAMPALA – Ag. Deputy Registrar and Private Legal Secretary to the Deputy Chief Justice, Dr Mushabe Alex Karocho, has been appointed as the Judiciary Contracts Committee’s new chairperson.
Dr Mushabe replaces the Chief Registrar, Sarah Langa Siu, who has been holding the position since 2017.
The other Committee members are; Deputy Registrar at ICD, Atingu Beatrice Stella; Magistrate Grade One and Personal Assistant to the Chief Justice, Lochomin Peter; Senior Assistant Secretary; Aidah Kemigisa; and Senior Economist, Destiny Letasi Asea, who serves as the Committee’s Secretary.
Dr Mushabe received instruments of work, including a Report and a Seal, during a handover ceremony held at the Judiciary headquarters on Thursday.
The Committee members applauded the outgoing chairperson of the Committee HW Langa’s exemplary leadership, which they said was characterized by prayer, teamwork, and commitment that resulted in efficiency and success.
The Permanet Secretary to Judiciary, Pius Bigirimana, handed HW Langa an award in recognition of her exceptional service on the Committee. He described her as an incorruptible and principled civil servant with high levels of integrity, and urged members of the Committee to emulate her.
“I want to congratulate and salute you for having done a great job. For example, the Appellate courts buildings, is one of the few known construction projects in Government that were handled without any bribing, it was fairly procured, implemented, construction is fast, and payments are on schedule,” he noted. He urged the new Committee to be guided by their conscience and professionalism.”
With nostalgia, HW Langa recalled what a privilege it was to serve in a position that manages more than 70 per cent of the Judiciary’s total budget. She expressed her trust in Dr Mushabe’s ability to carry on the mantle. “He is someone I have known, and someone I trust and someone I know will even perform better,” she said.
Outlining some of the Committee’s achievements since 2017, HW Langa stated that there had been timely handling of procurement matters, and as a result, they have no backlog.
To keep afloat, she reported, that the Committee even had to adopt virtual meetings during the lockdown to ensure continuity and timely handling of matters before it.
Other achievements included increased stakeholder engagements and joint training, promoted competition and upheld the principle of value for money.
“We have worked without any administrative review or complaints, so we pride in that,” she said, attributing this to the Committees’ teamwork and consultation, especially with the secretary to the Judiciary and the user departments.
Despite the leaps, the Chief Registrar said the Committee often encountered setbacks during the execution of their duties – ranging from late requests from the user departments to unplanned procurements due to limited monitoring and evaluation mechanisms.
Dr Mushabe pledged to do his best to uphold the trust of the appointing authority. He pointed out that teamwork and consultation with the committee members and all stakeholders will be key in his leadership.
To the new chairperson, Mr Bigirimana had this to say: “From just his remarks when I first visited Mengo Chief Magistrates Court, I could tell that there’s a lot of untapped knowledge in him.” He further applauded Dr Mushabe for the proper appropriation of funds requisitioned for the Mengo Court rehabilitation where he served as Chief Magistrate.
Mr Bigirimana used the occasion to share best practices in procurement with members of the Committee. He took them through the four stages of procurement: Scoping, Sourcing, Evaluation and Contract Management. He emphasized that the procurement process starts and ends with the user. “All the due diligence must only be done to ensure that the user department will be satisfied with the services of the chosen contractor,” he said.
