The Permanent Secretary (PS) and Secretary to the Judiciary Pius Bigirimana has won flagship award of honorary PhD in Leadership and Management
Bigirimana received the award from Accra, Ghana from the the President of the Geofidel Institute of Leadership and Management U.K.
According to the organisers, Bigirimana’s new award (Doctorate Degree) is merit-based and in recognition of his outstanding public-sector service and numerous contributions to nation-building in Uganda and service to humanity.
“Today’s evolving business landscape requires highly skilled leaders who can navigate through the complex challenges and empower their teams to succeed. You’ll learn modern techniques to lead high-performance teams to add value and purpose to your organization through effective leadership strategies,” reads the invitation.
The high profile ceremony took place at Tomreik Hotel, Accra Ghana.
In his acceptance speech, the PS who has made a name out of his long- standing financial management acumen said he devoted his life to doing duties as a civil servant unaware that he be carefully recognized.
“I am honoured to stand here in a joyful and a wonderful moment of my life which has made me think about my life in a most profound way,” said Bigirimana.
“I am humbled to accept this meritorious award of honorary PhD in Leadership and Management. It is a validation of my belief that devoted attention to duty somehow always attracts unexpected and heartwarming rewards,” he added.
He briefly narrated his humble background that moved the audience.
“I was that barefooted boy, from the beautiful but remote Ugandan countryside of Kisoro district beneath the Virunga Mountains, who has grown up to become a Permanent Secretary.
A Permanent Secretary is the highest-ranking non-political Civil Servant in the Ugandan Public Service. So, can an ordinary person without the sophistication, privilege and advantage of a noble birth rise to an elevated place of service to humanity? The answer is yes and if you have any doubt that it is possible look at me standing before you today.”
He said as leader ought to demonstrate foresight of the future even in the most challenging environment by harnessing adverse predicaments for innovative intervention.
WHO IS PROFILE
Pius Bigirimana is a senior civil servant in the Government of Uganda. He, presently, is the Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Judiciary of Uganda, one of the three Constitutionally-mandated arms of Government besides the Executive and Legislature. His employment in Uganda’s Civil Service has spanned 30 years, to date. He has risen from the junior ranks to his current role as a Permanent Secretary (the highest non-political position of Uganda’s Civil Service) which he has held since 1984.
Over the years, Pius has built a solid reputation as a transformative thinker and leader who is performance oriented with unique perspectives on assessing not only the outputs but also the outcomes and impact. Pius believes that Government interventions to solve challenges encountered by the citizenry are not an end in themselves. The outcomes (evidenced by higher productivity and improved livelihood) as well as impact (evidenced by contribution to national development) must be synergised in a 360-degree loop back system. Such a system ensures value-for-money and visible/demonstrable change in the quality of life of the populace underscored by their active contribution to national development.
Pius has been a key player in the conceptualisation, innovation, implementation and evaluation of a number of Government of Uganda initiatives. One of the more outstanding of these is the powerful Government assessment tool he spearheaded referred to as the Uganda Annual Government Performance Review Mechanism. It is loosely referred to as the Traffic Lights System. This mechanism enables the evaluation of the performance of Ministries, Departments and Agencies.
Pius has, also, to date, overseen national projects worth more than USD 500 million. Some of the larger ones have included:
The reconstruction of Northern Uganda through the Northern Uganda Social Action Fund (NUSAF) and Peace, Recovery and Development Plan (PRDP) following 20 years of civil war;
The targeted uplifting of the Karamoja sub region from archaic nomadic lifestyles to integrated participatory economic development via the Karamoja Livelihoods Programme (KALIP), Agricultural Livelihoods Recovery Programme (ALREP), the Karamoja Integrated Disarmament and Development Plan (KIDDP);
The Youth Livelihood Programme (YLP) where, in five years, up to 250,000 youth were reached with poverty alleviation and unemployment revolving fund interventions; and
The Uganda Women’s Empowerment Programme which followed the Youth Livelihood Programme paradigm but with specialised emphasis on reaching up to 150,000 disadvantaged women in Uganda’s society.
More recently, Pius spearheaded the commencement of the long-stalled construction of the Supreme Court and Court of Appeal buildings of Uganda’s Judiciary. These twin tower structures constitute ten story each.
These are the first such buildings of the country’s highest courts since Uganda became a nation. Pius has also heavily contributed to the leadership drive in the implementation of the Judiciary’s Electronic Case Management Information System. He has also been instrumental in the introduction of video conferencing hearings by courts in the face of the covid-19 pandemic by purchasing Video Conferencing equipment in various Courts.
Pius holds a Bachelor of Arts degree, a Master of Arts degree and a Master of Business Administration degree. He has attended a number of post-graduate Leadership and Management courses twice at Harvard Kennedy School of Government – USA, and other specialised higher institutions of learning like the University of Manchester in the UK.
He is a sought-after speaker both in and outside of Uganda. He has spoken at the United Nations Evaluation Symposium in New York and a number of International conferences. He is also the author of four books. He is a passionate believer in charity and through the Clare Nsenga Foundation operates a not-for-profit Health Centre in Southern Uganda, Cyanika, Kisoro District bordering DR Congo and Rwanda. This Health Centre treats up to 30,000 patients annually at highly subsidised rates.
Pius is married to Elizabeth Bigirimana with whom they live in Kampala, Uganda. They have a few children and grandchildren.
