Idah Nantaba
Idah Nantaba | |
|---|---|
| Born | 20 December 1979 |
| Nationality | Ugandan |
| Citizenship | Uganda |
| Education | Makerere University (Bachelor of Arts in Tourism) |
| Occupation(s) | Tourism officer, businesswoman, politician |
| Years active | 2003–present |
| Known for | Politics |
| Title | Minister of State for Information and Communications Technology |
Idah Erios Nantaba is a Ugandan politician. She is the State Minister in the Uganda Ministry of Information and Communications Technology. She was appointed to that position on 6 June 2016.[1] Prior to that, from 15 August 2012 until 6 June 2016, she was Minster of State for Lands in the Cabinet of Uganda.[2] Nantaba is also the elected Member of Parliament for Kayunga District Women's Constituency.[3]
Background and education
She was born in Kayunga District on 20 December 1979.[3] She attended Ndeeba Primary School in Kayunga District from 1986 to 1992, where she finished her Primary Leaving Examinations. Her father did not have money enough to take her to a very good secondary school so she joined Ndeeba Senior Secondary School for her S1 in 1993. Villagers in the village of Kisoga, in Kayunga District, recall how she used to be carried on a bicycle by a brother to school, about 14 kilometres (8.7 mi) from their home, daily. In 1994, Nantaba's mother acquired some money and Nantaba was moved from Ndeeba SSS to Katikamu SDA SSS where she studied from S2 to S6, from February 1994 to November 1998. On 26 September 1999, Nantaba was admitted to Makerere University, together with the brother who used to ferry her to school, for a degree in tourism. She undertook an undergraduate student research project, "Medicinal Plants As Tourism Potential: Case Study of Uganda Wildlife Educational Center (UWEC)", which was supervised by Professor J. B. Nyakaana. Nantaba has a Bachelor of Tourism degree, obtained in 2003 from Makerere University.[3][4]
Career
2003–2015
In 2003, following her graduation from Makerere, she worked as a tourism officer with Pearl of Africa Tours and Travel Limited. She left that job in late 2003. Beginning in 2005, she served on the board of directors of Jordan Laboratories Limited, a distributor of photographic and printing equipment. In 2010, she joined active elective politics by contesting the Kayunga District Women's Parliamentary Constituency. She won the NRM political party primary by defeating the incumbent, Florence Naiga. In 2011, she was elected during the general election.[3] In a cabinet reshuffle on 15 August 2012, she was appointed as State Minister for Lands,[5] replacing Sarah Opendi Achieng.[3] After weeks of protracted confirmation hearings, the Appointments Committee of Parliament finally confirmed her appointment on 23 October 2012.[6]
2015–present
During the 2016 parliamentary election cycle, Nantaba lost during the primary elections held by the National Resistance Movement (NRM), her political party at the time.[7] She quit the party, citing rigging during the primaries,[8] as she had previously warned.[9] During the national elections held on 18 February 2016, Nantaba, who ran as an independent candidate, polled 86,057 votes against Ruth Nakacwa, who received 13,184 votes.[10] Despite having quit the ruling NRM party, she was appointed as Minister of State for ICT on 6 June 2016.[1]
Other responsibilities
Aidah Nantaba is single. She is of the Seventh-day Adventist faith. She sits in the 10th Parliament (2016–2021) as an Independent. She serves on the following additional committees in parliament:[3]
- Committee on Tourism, Trade and Industry
- Committee on HIV/AIDS and Related Matters
References
- ^ a b Uganda State House (6 June 2016). "Museveni's new cabinet list At 6 June 2016" (PDF). Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
- ^ Butagira, Tabu (15 August 2012). "Museveni Reshuffles Cabinet, Makes Marginal Changes". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ a b c d e f POU. "Profile of Nantaba Idah Erios, Member of Parliament for Woman Representative, Kayunga District". Kampala: Parliament of Uganda (POU). Retrieved 20 October 2016.
- ^ Mzaale, Fred (22 October 2012). "Who is Idah Nantaba?". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
- ^ New Vision (15 August 2012). "Full Uganda Cabinet List As of 15th August 2012". Facebook.com. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ John Odyek, and Henry Sekanjako (23 October 2012). "Appointments Committee Rescinds Position On Nantaba". New Vision. Kampala. Retrieved 14 February 2015.
- ^ Muzaale, Fred (19 October 2015). "Kayunga top leaders lose in NRM primary elections". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
- ^ Muzaale, Fred (22 September 2015). "Lands State minister floored in Kayunga, quits NRM". Daily Monitor Mobile. Kampala. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
- ^ Walusimbi, Deo (31 August 2015). "Nantaba warns NRM over 2016". The Observer (Uganda). Kampala. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
- ^ Muzaale, Fred (19 February 2016). "Minister Nantaba trounces NRM candidate". Daily Monitor. Kampala. Retrieved 20 October 2016.
