Jennifer Musisi has said the fallen Permanent Secretary to the Office of the Prime Minister and former Head of Treasury Keith Muhakanazi was a significant pillar in their efforts to transform Kampala.
Musisi, who is the former Kampala City Council Authority (KCCA) Executive Director, said during her tenure, the fallen economist was open and free to discuss any matter related to development of the Kampala city.
“We pay homage to Keith Muhakanizi, one of the most significant pillars in our efforts to transform Kampala. His door was always open, his counsel and encouragement uplifting, we spent hours on end, discussing and poring over figures, looking for any available funds to help us in our task,” said Musisi.
The former KCCA boss said Muhakanizi made bold decisions that contributed a lot to making Kampala better.
Muhakanizi, an economist and one of the long-serving civil servants was buried on Sunday at Lwamayongo Village in Kabula, Lyantonde district, Western Uganda.
The casket of the deceased was draped in national colours and guarded by the police.
Minister of State for General Duties at the Ministry of Finance, Henry Musasizi eulogised late as a man who dedicated his life to the service of Uganda.
He said the deceased was one of the stabilisers of Uganda's modern economy.
Musasizi said Muhakanizi will always be remembered for the enormous contribution to revamping, restructuring and correcting the economic distortions of the 1970's adding that he led reforms in public financial mismanagement attracting investment, poverty reduction reforms, debt management among others.
The late was also described as a Christian and family man who demonstrated his faith with works, sharing his Christian work with others and contributing to building churches (St.Stephen's church Lyantonde) and schools in the area.
Muhakanizi died in Italy where he had been flown for further management following several months of illness.
He was diagnosed with Lymphoma cancer in 2018 and lost the battle to bone cancer while in Milan, Italy.
Muhakanizi began his civil service career in the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development in 1982 as an economist in the Macro Economic Planning Division.
He later on served in various capacities in the same ministry until 2021 as The Permanent Secretary/Secretary to the Treasury.
His family and friends described him as a respectful, loving, amiable, gentle soul who listened to people and more so the elders.
President Museveni last week described Muhakanizi among the unsung heroes for Uganda’s economic recovery when he together with other economists espoused a 10-point set of bitter-pill measures that the World Bank and IMF had begun to prescribe to cash-hungry distressed economies in the early 1980s.
The measures helped Uganda’s economy recover, according to the president.