Uganda Airlines finally gets new board of directors amidst turmoil
In April 2021, Ugandan President Yoheri Museveni ordered the sacking of the former Uganda Airlines board, headed by Perez Ahabwe, following infighting. The Ugandan flag carrier has been loss-making and budgetary since its launch in 2019 and now needs a true cost-killer team to implement its ambitious business plan.
Priscilla Mirembe Seruka is the new chairperson of the new Uganda Airlines board. She and the other six directors (Mr. Ocailap Patrick, Ms. Namugambe Barbara, Captain Ebrahim Kisoro Sadrudin, Mr. Samson Rwahire, Eng. Herbert Kanuntu and Mr. Omoding Abdi Karim) were installed on Friday, April 1, 2022, by the Minister of Works and Transport, General Edward Katumba Wamala, for a three-year term.
"The new seven-member board will not only ensure connectivity, but also promote tourism, business and other sectors of the economy," says the Ministry of Works and Transport. At the installation ceremony, the head of the ministerial department advised them to learn the lessons of the previous board. "You must show complementarity, not competition," General Katumba warned.
A warning that is not insignificant, knowing that the former board of directors was in discord with the former general management and some executives of the Ministry of Public Works and Transport. In fact, the former chief executive officer of Uganda's national airline, Cornwell Muleya, and other executives of the company were sacked on 18 February, having previously been suspended on 21 April 2021, on charges of corruption and mismanagement.
Clearly, the new team will have its work cut out for it to turn around the finances of the national carrier as the repercussions of the health crisis continue to be felt. Since its launch in August 2019, Uganda Airlines has recorded a loss of UGX15 billion (USD4 million) in FY 2018/19 (including the pre-operating period), UGX102.4 billion (USD29 million) in FY 2019/20 and UGX164.573 billion (USD46 million) for FY 2020/2021.
The carrier currently has six aircraft including four CRJ-900s and two Airbus A330-800neo (to be received in December 2020 and February 2021). From Entebbe International Airport, it currently serves about eight routes. In its regional growth plan, it also targets Lusaka, Johannesburg, Khartoum, Cairo and Harare. On transcontinental routes, Uganda Airlines is planning Guangzhou, Mumbai, Dubai and London. Traffic rights have already been secured for the latter two routes.
