Bemanya Twebaze Elected Director General of Africa Regional Intellectual Property Organisation

At the Forty Fourth Session of the Administrative Council of the African Regional Intellectual Property Organization (ARIPO), Mr Bemanya Twebaze was elected as Director General for the period January 01^st, 2021 – December 31^st, 2024.

Mr. Bemanya Twebaze is the current Registrar General of Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) and Official Receiver of Uganda. Bemanya’s stellar performance as team leader of URSB has led to a 360 degree transformation of the organization that is credited for formalizing Uganda’s economy. URSB is recognized as one of the key performing agencies in Uganda having turned around service delivery through its zero tolerance to corruption stance under his stewardship.

Mr. Bemanya will also be fondly remembered as an inspiring leader, parent, mentor, turn-around guru and his attention to detail ensured that URSB’s services delivery was perfected. He instituted an admirable culture of time management and professionalism amongst the URSB staff that changed the whole outlook of the organization and led to the improvement of the service turn-around time from days, to just hours. He also front-led the crafting of the All-digital ,All-online strategy that is credited for perfecting the new normal no-contact way of service delivery necessitated by the advent of the COVID-19 pandemic. URSB pledges to fully implement this strategy and ensure all Ugandans can easily access services.

The following are some of the notable achievements under the stewardship of Mr. Bemanya during his tenure;

1. He oversaw the decentralization of services and currently the Bureau has its presence in Arua, Mbale, Mbarara, Gulu and three offices in Kampala at UIA, Posta, Head Office and Nakivubo Mews in downtown Kampala;
2. Established and strengthened partnerships with KCCA, MoLG, NSSF, UNBS, MoICT &NG, UFZA, EU-IPO, Posta Uganda and the private sector (such as Stanbic Bank, FSDU) all of which have enabled the Bureau to further reach out to the public through joint service activities
3. Established new registries such as the Chattels/SIMPO registry which is a purely electronic registry for registration of security interests in movable property.
4. Improved the ease of doing of business through reforms implemented both administrative and legal in nature. These reforms have seen Uganda’s positioning in the World Bank ease of doing business improve over the years. Because of these reforms, and to support streamlined operations of related business services, the Government of Uganda through the World Bank are supporting the building of the Uganda Business Facilitation Centre which will host URSB, Capital Markets Authority and the Uganda Investment Authority. The building is in its final stages of completion.
5. Was instrumental in the development of the National Intellectual Property Policy which was passed by Cabinet and launched by H.E the President in September 2020.
6. Advocated for Corporate Rescue mechanisms vis-à-vis winding up of companies. Uganda has annually held conferences that focus on how East Africa can stand out as a hub for corporate rescue and insolvency.
7. Increased revenue collections annually from Ugx 5.8bn in 2010/2011 to Ugx 56.8bn in 2018/19 Financial Year, an increase by 879%, due to administrative reforms instituted that not only led to increase in productivity but also motivated staff through a shared vision.
8. Digitization of records and automation of business processes to reduce the turn around time taken to access records and provide services.

Mr. Bemanya has served as Chairman of the World Intellectual Property Organization (WIPO) Advisory Committee on Enforcement (ACE) and is the immediate past President of the Paris Union Assembly (International Union for the Protection of Industrial Property).

ARIPO is an inter-governmental organization based in Harare Zimbabwe. ARIPO was established in 1976 to facilitate cooperation among member states in protection of intellectual property. Currently ARIPO has twenty (20) member states which include Uganda, Bostwana, Kingdom of Eswatini, The Gambia, Ghana, Kenya, The Kingdom of Lesotho, Liberia, Malawi, Mauritius, Mozambique, Namibia, Rwanda, Sao Tome and Principe, Sierra Leone, Somalia, Sudan, United Republic of Tanzania, Zambia and Zimbabwe.

The election of Mr. Bemanya Twebaze is proof that Uganda’s outlook to the external world has improved over the years and the country and its leaders can now make more meaningful contribution even across the borders.