Lyoidah Kiconco and Loyola Karobwa are primed for the Uganda National Mining Company top jobs
By Joseph Kiggundu
KAMPALA. Ms Lyoidah Kiconco, the head of exploration and new ventures at Uganda National Oil Company (UNOC), has been named acting chief executive officer at the Uganda National Mining Company (UNMC).
Kiconco’s elevation follows the Inspectorate of Government’s orders on October 22, for the interdiction of the company Chief Executive Officer, Dr Gerald Banaga-Baingi, and the Corporate and Legal Affairs officer, Ms Lelia Bwambale, to “facilitate investigations into allegations of maladministration, financial mismanagement and abuse of office.”
“Public interest demands that while investigations against an officer are ongoing, he or she should be suspended from exercising the powers and functions of the office to avoid interference with the investigations,” the ombudsman directed.
Insiders told this newspaper that Ms Kiconco took office last week, and on Friday, she convened a town hall meeting with staff at the company’s offices at Crested Towers to “restore calm and confidence.” The naming of an external interim executive speaks volumes about corporate governance crises plaguing the new company.
The Energy minister, Dr Monica Musenero, yesterday justified the decision as intended “to look for a right person and qualifications.”
“As you are aware, in fact it is you people (press), who broke the news that the CEO [Chief Executive Officer] was interdicted by the IGG [Inspector General of Government], so we had to appoint someone,” Dr Musenero said.
Kiconco’s career
A geologist by training, Ms Kiconco cut her teeth in the Ministry of Energy’s petroleum exploration department in 2002, from where she joined SLB -formerly Schlumberger, a multinational energy technology and oilfield services company, in 2012. In 2018, she joined UNOC- the statutory company charged with managing the country’s commercial interests in oil and gas licences.
The UNMC is established under the Mining and Minerals (amendment) Act, 2022, to manage the government’s commercial stakes and participating interests in the mining sector. Previously carried out by private companies following the obtaining of exploration and mining licences, in alignment with the policy blueprint, the National Development Plan, now in the fourth edition, as a key sector for downstream linkages for value addition.
Like UNOC in the petroleum sub-sector, UNMC is mandated to hold 15 percent free-carried equity interest in all medium and large-scale mining licences.
The company deals in about 58 minerals: from precious metals, including copper, cobalt, gold, iron ore, lead, beryllium, tin, titanium, tungsten, manganese, and rare earth metals, to industrial minerals such as limestone, phosphates, kaolin, and vermiculite, among others.
However, the two-year-old company almost fell apart in the last months, occasioned by a myriad of factors, ranging from disharmony between the board and the executive committee.
This was triggered by different working methods, sketchy company policies, alleged influence peddling of tenders, sexual harassment and dubious employment practices, among other issues.
Public accountability
The Secretary to the Treasury, also the Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Mr Ramathan Ggoobi, whose ministry is a co-shareholder in the company, ordered for a governance audit by the Internal Auditor General, whose preliminary findings were forwarded to the IGG for further investigation and management.
Under the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA), 2015, the Secretary to the Treasury and the Internal Auditor General play central leadership functions in fiscal governance and public accountability.