(This article was first published on January 20, 2023)
By Kellen Owente
When Dr Martin M. Lwanga officially starts work as the new director-general and CEO of ESAMI on February 1, he will take the reins as the first Ugandan ever in that role.
Lwanga, an associate professor, has just been appointed to the position and will succeed Zambian Prof. Bonard Mwape.
ESAMI (Eastern and Southern African Management Institute) is a diplomatic regional management development institute owned by various governments in sub-Saharan Africa.
The institute is headquartered in Arusha, Tanzania and it is where CEO-designate Lwanga will sit.
The 59-year-old will bank on his 20 years of training and education experience to steer the institute, which provides specialized top-level management training, research, and consultancy services to its members.
The member countries are Uganda, Tanzania, Kenya, Mozambique, Malawi, Namibia, Seychelles, Swaziland, Zambia and Zimbabwe.
ESAMI, which started in 1979, offers courses in various academic disciplines, which can be taken in each of the 10 member nations.
Lwanga told New Vision he is ready for the task ahead.
“Many African countries are facing problems of service delivery and, therefore, I commit myself as a new leader, that ESAMI as an institution will be the number one provider on the continent to continuously solve and manage these issues through our courses,” he said.
Mary Kimonye, who chairs ESAMI’s board, described the incoming CEO as “very talented” person, who “brings a wealth of knowledge and unique expertise to our great pan-African institute”.
“We are looking forward to leading ESAMI to even greater heights,” she added.
Lwanga from a glance
Lwanga has previously served as the Dean of the Uganda Christian University School of Business.
He also headed the management depart at Uganda Management Institute, lectured at Makerere University and co-founded Power FM, a Christian and inspirational radio station.
His consultancy experience has involved governments as well as private and civil society organisations in the region.
Lwanga’s literary work – books and in academic journals – touches on leadership and management governance, personal development and literature.
Having completed his Bachelor of Arts from Makerere University, he received his doctorate in business leadership from the University of South Africa.
Lwanga also got a master’s degree in business administration from Maastricht School of Management in the Netherlands and another in public administration from the University of Oklahoma in the US.