Stephen Robert Isabalija is a Ugandan civil servant, management professional, accountant, academic and academic administrator. He is the immediate past permanent secretary in the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development in

Uganda Uganda, officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. It is bordered to the east by Kenya, to the north by South Sudan, to the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, to the south-west by Rwanda, and to the ...

, having served in that capacity from November 2016, until his termination on 24 August 2017. Prior to that, he served as the

vice chancellor A vice-chancellor (commonly called a VC) serves as the chief executive of a university in the United Kingdom, New Zealand, Australia, Nepal, India, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Nigeria, Pakistan, Sri Lanka, South Africa, Kenya, other Commonwealth countr ...

Victoria University Uganda Victoria University Uganda (VUU), also known as Victoria University Kampala, is a chartered University by the Uganda National Council for Higher Education (NCHE). It offers short, professional, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate courses. ...

, a private, for-profit university owned by the

Ruparelia Group The Ruparelia Group of Companies, commonly referred to as the Ruparelia Group, is a privately owned Conglomerate (business), conglomerate in Uganda. Sudhir Ruparelia, a wealthy Ugandan businessman, is a shareholder in each of the companies in t ...

, a business conglomerate in

East Africa East Africa, also known as Eastern Africa or the East of Africa, is a region at the eastern edge of the Africa, African continent, distinguished by its unique geographical, historical, and cultural landscape. Defined in varying scopes, the regi ...

. He served in that capacity from September 2013 until November 2016.

Background

Isabalija was born in

Fort Portal Fort Portal formerly Kabarole () is a city located in the Western Region, Uganda, Western Region of Uganda. It is the seat of both Kabarole District and historically of the Tooro Kingdom. Etymology Fort Portal was named after British Diplomac ...

Kabarole District Kabarole District is a Districts of Uganda, district in Western Region, Uganda, Western Uganda. Kabarole District is part of the Tooro Kingdom. Its main town was Fort Portal before 1 July 2020 when it was elevated to a city, separating it from Ka ...

, on 23 November 1976, to Chris Nyakahuma (deceased) and Lorraine K. Waako Akiiki (deceased).

Education

Isabalija attended Kinyamasika Demonstration School, in

for his elementary school. For his O-Level education, he attended St. Leo’s College Kyegobe, also in Fort Portal. He transferred to

Makerere College School Makerere College School is a co-educational government aided O and A Level school founded in 1945 by Makerere University. In 1945 Makerere University was still a constituent college of the University of London. The school is located on the main c ...

, in

Kampala Kampala (, ) is the Capital city, capital and largest city of Uganda. The city proper has a population of 1,875,834 (2024) and is divided into the five political divisions of Kampala Central Division, Kampala, Kawempe Division, Kawempe, Makindy ...

, Uganda's

capital Capital and its variations may refer to: Common uses * Capital city, a municipality of primary status ** Capital region, a metropolitan region containing the capital ** List of national capitals * Capital letter, an upper-case letter Econom ...

and largest city, for his A-Level studies. From 1996 until 1998, he attended Nakawa College of Business Studies, the name of the institution that was the precursor of

Makerere University Business School Makerere University Business School (MUBS) is the school of business of Makerere University, Uganda's oldest university. MUBS provides business and management education at the certificate, diploma, undergraduate and postgraduate levels. Location ...

(MUBS). In 1997, he enrolled in the

Bachelor of Commerce A Bachelor of Commerce (BCom or B Com) is an undergraduate degree in commerce, accounting, mathematics, economics, and management-related subjects. The degree is mainly offered in Commonwealth nations. Structure Bachelor of Commerce The Bac ...

degree program at the main campus of

Makerere University Makerere University (; Mak) is Uganda's largest and oldest institution of higher learning, first established as a technical school in 1922, and the oldest currently active university in East Africa. It became an independent national university in ...

, graduating in 2001. For one year in 1998, he juggled degree classes at

Makerere Makerere ( ) is a neighborhood in the city of Kampala, Uganda's capital city. The name also applies to the hill on which this neighborhood is perched; one of the original seven hills that constituted Kampala at the time of its founding, in the ...

and diploma classes at

Nakawa Nakawa is an area in the city of Kampala, Uganda's capital. It is also the location of the headquarters of Nakawa Division, one of the five administrative divisions of Kampala. Location Nakawa is located on the eastern edge of the city of Kamp ...

. Between 2002 and 2004, he studied for the degree of

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA) is a professional degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration; elective courses may allow further study in a particular ...

(MBA) in

Finance Finance refers to monetary resources and to the study and Academic discipline, discipline of money, currency, assets and Liability (financial accounting), liabilities. As a subject of study, is a field of Business administration, Business Admin ...

and

Accounting Accounting, also known as accountancy, is the process of recording and processing information about economic entity, economic entities, such as businesses and corporations. Accounting measures the results of an organization's economic activit ...

, at Makerere University, Main Campus. His degree of

Doctor of Philosophy A Doctor of Philosophy (PhD, DPhil; or ) is a terminal degree that usually denotes the highest level of academic achievement in a given discipline and is awarded following a course of Postgraduate education, graduate study and original resear ...

(PhD) in Public Policy (International Development), was obtained in 2011, from

Southern University Southern University and A&M College (Southern University, Southern, SUBR or SU) is a Public university, public historically black colleges and universities, historically black land-grant university in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, United States. It i ...

, in

New Orleans New Orleans (commonly known as NOLA or The Big Easy among other nicknames) is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city-parish located along the Mississippi River in the U.S. state of Louisiana. With a population of 383,997 at the 2020 ...

Louisiana Louisiana ( ; ; ) is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It borders Texas to the west, Arkansas to the north, and Mississippi to the east. Of the 50 U.S. states, it ranks 31st in area and 25 ...

, United States.

Work history

Isabalija started his career in 1999 immediately after finishing his diploma in business studies. He was a finance specialist, and rose to the rank of Head of accounts at the ministry of water and environment (JPF). In 2005, he was hired as lecturer in the graduate school and rose to the rank to senior lecturer at

(MUBS). He was appointed vice chancellor of

Victoria University Victoria University may refer to: * Victoria University (Australia), a public research university in Melbourne, Australia * Victoria University, Toronto, a constituent college of the federal University of Toronto in Canada * Victoria University of ...

in 2013. Besides his responsibilities at Victoria University,

Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited The Uganda Electricity Generation Company Limited (UEGCL) is a parastatal company whose primary purpose is to generate electric power for use in Uganda and for sale to neighboring countries. As of December 2017, UEGCL's generation capacity was 38 ...

and Uganda Development Bank, he sits on the boards of Dynamic Group, where he is the chairman; ICT University Foundation; Christian Discipleship Ministries International; ICT Centre, Makerere University Business School; and Uganda Women’s Entrepreneurship Association, where he is a delegate. On 4 November 2016, he was appointed the permanent secretary of the Ministry of Energy and Mineral Development, replacing Kabagambe Kaliisa, who became a presidential adviser on energy.

Academic authorship

Isabalija's research has been published in peer reviewed journals. Topics of his articles include: * Factors affecting adoption, implementation and sustainability of Telemedicine information systems in Uganda. This study identified and discussed the key requirements for sustainable telemedicine in Uganda. * A theoretical framework on the antecedents of E-Medicine sustainability in Sub-Saharan Africa: A mixed approach. * SME adoption of enterprise systems in Sub-Saharan Africa: A clarion call to action. * A framework for designing sustainable telemedicine information systems in developing countries. * A framework for sustainable implementation of e-medicine in transitioning countries. * A comparative study of e-Medicine uptake in Uganda, Nigeria and Ethiopia.

Other responsibilities

Isabalija sits on the board of directors of Uganda Development Bank (UDB). He is a married father of four children .

References