FELLOW PROFILE
From Kampala to Cambridge:
Jennifer Musisi knows what it takes to lead high-stakes change in city government
Musisi (right) was often in the field inspecting and advising on public works; here she discusses the reconstruction of Kampala’s Kisekka Road with KCCA engineers Andrew Serunjogi (left) and Dickens Okello
Like most city leaders, Jennifer Musisi, the former municipal head of Kampala, Uganda’s capital city, came into office with plans to shake up how local government did business. She wasn’t afraid to ruffle a few feathers in order to improve how Uganda’s largest metro area, long plagued by corruption and poor administration, provided services to its one and a half million residents. What she didn’t expect was that her pursuit of greater government efficiency and transparency would result in threats on her life. “One time a grenade was found under my car,” said Musisi, speaking to a rapt audience at the Ash Center, where she is the inaugural City Leader in Residence with the Bloomberg Harvard City Leadership Initiative, which is housed at the Center. “It was shocking to see the extent to which the resistance could go— blow me up because I’m trying to organize the management and finances of the city.” In December of last year, Musisi stepped down after almost eight years running the Kampala Capital City Authority (KCCA)
where she bolstered city services and overhauled the authority’s finances. “She has a global reputation for strong urban governance, integrity, fighting corruption, organizational leadership, and building service delivery systems in institutions that are crippled by resource constraints and corruption,” said Jorrit de Jong, Lecturer in Public Policy and Management at HKS and faculty director of the Bloomberg Harvard Initiative. A lawyer by training, Musisi was tapped in 1999 to head up the legal department of the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA), the country’s principal tax collection agency, which was also rife with corruption and management problems. At the URA, Musisi helped build a team of enthusiastic young civil servants who revamped the agency, ultimately achieving what she termed “an incredible level of tax collection.” She also helped to instill in Ugandans a sense of civic obligation to pay their taxes, which Musisi credited with slashing tax avoidance levels throughout the country. It’s not surprising that after the task of rebuilding the country’s tax collection systems, Musisi thought perhaps she could look forward to a less stressful private-sector job or even a little extra time off. Half-joking, she said, “I thought it would be time to take early retirement. I’m going to private life, make a little money, and just go to the beach.” Her long-awaited seaside sojourn, however, was interrupted in 2010, when Uganda’s parliament passed legislation replacing the Kampala City Council with the KCCA. Ugandan President Yoweri Museveni asked Musisi if she would take the reins of the newly constituted KCCA as its first executive director, a position akin to that of city manager in many North American municipalities. Musisi recalls, “The president, in his words, said ‘help me sort out Kampala.’” With her background building revenue collection and human resources systems for the URA, Musisi set about the undertaking of overhauling Kampala’s municipal government. Even the seemingly straightforward task of tallying up the number
The Ash Center invites scholars, political leaders, and other practitioners into the HKS community, generally selected through a competitive process, for term appointments that offer a host of opportunities to pursue independent or collaborative research projects, enhance their pro-
Fellowship Opportunities
fessional skills, and connect with their peers. In addition to individual research pursuits, fellows audit classes, attend regular research seminars, meet with faculty and students, and contribute to the overall academic life of the Center. FOR MORE INFORMATION ON THE CENTER’S NUMEROUS FELLOWSHIPS, INCLUDING APPLICATION REQUIREMENTS, SELECTION CRITERIA, AND FUNDING AVAILABILITY, VISIT ASH.HARVARD.EDU/FELLOWSHIPS
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Communiqué
Spring 2019
