Who is Matia Kasaija?: Flash Uganda Media looks at his biography, age, family, wife, tribe, controversy, work and experience, political career, early life and education of the current Member of the current Minister of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development in the Cabinet of Uganda.
Matia Kasaija is a Ugandan leader, politician and teacher.
He is the current Minister of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development in the Cabinet of Uganda.
Matia Kasaija also doubles as the Member of Parliament for Buyanja West County, Kibaale District.
He is a staunch member of the National Resistance Movement (NRM) political party. He has been an avid supporter of Museveni since the president’s ascension to power in 1986.
Net Worth
With a yearly revenue of more than 300 million Ugandan shillings as of 2022, Matia Kasaija has an estimated net worth of 800 million Ugandan shillings.
Early Life and Education
Matia Kasaija was born on 28 May 1944, in Kibaale District the western region of Uganda.
He is a Munyoro by tribe.
Kasaija attended the University of Nairobi, a former affiliate of the University of East Africa graduating with a Bachelor’s Degree in Commerce (BCom) around 1967.
Marriage / Relationship
Matia Kasaija is married and has children.
Career and Professional Work Experience
Before politics, Matia Kasaija worked as a teacher, farm manager and salesman for Shell oil firm in Uganda.
Early in 1979, Matia Kasaija began his political career by running on the UPM ticket for the Hoima West Constituency in the NCC.
However, he was unsuccessful due to identity politics, since Dr. Milton Obote II had granted the counties to the Bunyoro kingdom.
Then at the age of 36, he was voted to Parliament during Uganda’s elections of 1980 and appointed State Minister for Labor till 1981.
From 1981 to 1986, Kasaija served as the National Resistance Army (NRA) External Wing member.
From 1987 to 1990, he was the Executive Director of the Departed Asians Property Custodian Board.
Also, Kasaija served as the Deputy Director for Mass Mobilization at the National Resistance Movement (NRM) Secretariat (1988-1998).
During the 2006 parliamentary elections, Matia Kasaija was elected to represent Kibaale District’s “Buyanja County” in the 8th parliament (2006 – 2011).
He was also appointed as the state minister for Internal Affairs, a position he served in from June 1, 2006, to May 11, 2011.
Following his re-election to the 9th Parliament in 2011, Matia Kasaija was appointed the State Minister of Finance and Planning in the Cabinet replacing Ephraim Kamuntu who was appointed to the position of Minister of Tourism.
He served in this role from May 27 2011 till 28 February 2015. From 2011 to 2015, he also held the position of Board Member for Partners in Population and Development.
Kasaija was named Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development in March 2015, replacing Maria Kiwanuka, who was named Senior Presidential Advisor for Finance. He has still held this position up-to-date.
In the 2016 and 2021 General elections, Hon. Matia Kasaija still sailed through winning both elections as the Buyanja West County Member of Parliament.
Work experience background summary
| Years | Institution | Position |
| 1980 – 1981 | Ugandan Parliament | State Minister for Labor |
| 1981 – 1986 | National Resistance Army | External Wing member |
| 1987 – 1990 | Departed Asians Property Custodian Board | Executive Director |
| 1988-1998 | National Resistance Movement (NRM) Secretariat | Deputy Director for Mass Mobilization |
Member of Parliament Summary
| Term | Years | Constituency | Other roles |
| 1st | 2006 – 2011 | Buyanja County, Kibaale District | State Minister for Internal Affairs |
| 2nd | 2011 – 2016 | Buyanja County, Kibaale District | State Minister of Finance and Planning,Minister of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development |
| 3rd | 2016 – 2021 | Buyanja West County, Kibaale District | Minister of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development |
| 4th | 2021 – 2026 | Buyanja West County, Kibaale District | Minister of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development |
Other Career accomplishments
Matia Kasaija is an executive member of the Board of Governors (2015) at the African Development Bank (AFDB).
Also, he’s an Ex-Officio Member of the Governing Council at the East African Development Bank (EADB) and the Board of Governors at the International Monetary Fund (IMF) serving in this capacity in 2015.
Additionally, Kasaija is an Ex-Officio Member of the Board of Governors at the Islamic Development Bank and the Board of Governors at the Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) a position he still held in 2015.
Minister Kasaija also served as Co-Chair at the Global Partnership for Effective Development Co-operation in the year 2019.
Achievements and Awards
Matia Kasaija has been a very influential political figure and leader in Uganda. He has served in the Ugandan Parliament for four terms now.
Additionally, he has served in the capacity of Minister of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development for close to a decade.
Controversies
In the Karamoja iron sheet scam that implicated multiple ministers, Hon. Matia Kasaija defended himself saying he was innocent.
He claimed to have gotten iron sheets from the Office of the Prime Minister (OPM), but he claimed neither to have asked for them nor to have known that they were intended for the Karamoja people.
He claimed to be a victim of circumstance and was prepared to give back the 300 iron sheets that were still lying around his compound.
Minister Matia Kasaijja acknowledged in 2022 that he had irregularly given 10.6 billion shillings to six individuals as compensation for land that the central government had taken over through a supplemental budget.
He did, however, inform Parliament that the former Lands Minister, Beti Kamya, who is currently the Inspector General of Government, lacked the authority to propose the supplemental budget on behalf of the Uganda Land Commission.
Paul Kyalimpa ran in the NRM primary elections for the general elections of 2021 but was defeated by Kasaija, who received 16,539 votes against his 6,213 votes.
He chose to run as an independent after objecting to the poll results. On November 24, 2020, President Yoweri Museveni signed a letter appointing him to the UIA’s second top office and he thus withdrew from the race.
Due to his withdrawal from the Buyanja West Member of Parliament elections, Kasaijja was declared the winner without opposition.
Several political activists claimed that Kasaija lured Kyalimpa out of the race for fear of competition in exchange for the post at the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) since UIA is under the Ministry of Finance which Kasaija heads.
However, Kasaija came out and rubbished these allegations.
