Outgoing Secretary to the Judiciary and Permanent Secretary Dr Pius Bigirimana has reflected on his long and eventful career in Uganda's public service, declaring that he is leaving office with a distinguished record after 18 years as a Permanent Secretary while making it clear...

The Uganda Instituteof Banking and Financial Services (UIBFS), inpartnership with the Food and Agriculture Organizationof the United Nations (FAO), has convenedWorkshop to validate a Market and InstitutionalAssessment report, in addition to validating aspecialised Sustainable Forestry and Wood Value Chain Financing Curricu lum. The curriculum was developedby the Uganda Institute of Banking and FinancialServices, commissioned by FAO and funded by theEuropean Union. The workshop brought together stakeholders fromgovernment, financial institutions, development partners, the private sectorand academia. The Market and Institutional Assessment was undertaken to establish the readiness and capacityof financial institutions to participate in financing the forestry and wood value chain. It examined existing financing opportunities, institutional capacity, sector-specific risks, challenges and financing gaps. Drawing on the assessment findings, UIBFS developed a specialised curriculum on SustainableForestry and Wood Value Chain Financing. The curriculum is desig ned to strengthen thecapacity of financial institutions in Uganda tounderstand, assess and finance sustainable forestryand wood-based enterprises by imparting staff offinancial institutions with practical knowledge and skills to identify...