Monica Azuba Ntege


Monica Azuba Ntege is a Ugandan engineer and politician. She is the Cabinet Minister of Works and Transport in the Ugandan Cabinet. She was appointed to that position on 6 June 2016, replacing John Byabagambi, who became Minister for Karamoja.

Background and education

Monica Azuba was born in the Busoga sub-region, in the Eastern Region of Uganda, circa 1954. She attended Gayaza High School for her O-Level and A-Level studies, graduating in 1973. She entered Makerere University in 1974, graduating in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering.

Career

She was employed by the now defunct Uganda Commercial Bank after graduating from Makerere in 1978. When UCB was purchased by Standard Bank of South Africa in 2002, she stayed with he institution, rising to the position of Facilities Manager at Stanbic Bank Uganda Limited. She has served as a member of the board of Uganda National Roads Authority since June 2014. On 6 June 2016, she was appointed Minister of Works and Transport.

Work as Minister of Works and Transport

One of the first tasks that she was handed, soon after taking the oath as the works and transport minister, was to evaluate how the government of Uganda is going to revive the defunct Uganda Airlines. The national airline was liquidated in 2001, because it was deemed "unprofitable".
However, in 2013, a decision was made to revive the airline, in order to increase the number of tourists visiting Uganda and to cater for increased human and cargo traffic to the country as Uganda's nascent petrochemical industry grows. The major stakeholders under the chairmanship of the minister, including representatives from the Ministry of Works and Transport, the Uganda Development Corporation, the Civil Aviation Authority of Uganda, the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Cooperatives, the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development and others met and made recommendations. These were forwarded to cabinet for final approval before implementation.

Personal life

Ntege is married. She is a champion golfer and has won several tournaments nationally and regionally. In the past,she has served as a Regional Trustee of the All Africa Challenge Trophy in ladies golf.