Ephraim Kamuntu

Ephraim Kamuntu is a Ugandan management scientist and politician. He is the Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities in the Cabinet of Uganda. He was appointed to that position on 6 June 2016. Previously he served as Minister of Water and Environment from August 2012 to June 2016. He is also an ex-officio Member of the Parliament of Uganda because of his Cabinet position.

He was born in Sheema District on 26 September 1945. Kamuntu attended Ntare School for both his O-Level (1962-1965) and his A-Level (1966-1967) education. He studied at Makerere University, Uganda's oldest university, graduating in 1971 with a Bachelor of Arts in economics, political science, and history. In 1973, he obtained a Master of Science in systems analysis from the University of Rochester, in New York State. He also holds a Master of Arts in management science and business administration, from the University of Massachusetts.

He was a lecturer in Makerere University's Faculty of Commerce before it was shifted to the current Makerere University Business School in Nakawa. From 1992 until 1995, Kamuntu served as the chairman and managing director of Nile Bank Limited, a private commercial bank in Uganda. Between 1995 and 1997, he worked as a private consultant. From 1997 until 2001, he served as the National Coordinator for the Private Sector Development Program of the Ugandan Government. He entered politics in 2001, contesting for the parliamentary seat of Sheema County South, Bushenyi District. He was elected and was re-elected in 2006.

On 1 June 2006, he was appointed Minister of State for Industry. On 16 February 2009, he was reassigned as State Minister of Finance for Planning. In the cabinet reshuffle of 27 May 2011, he was promoted to full cabinet minister and put in charge of the Ministry of Tourism, Wildlife and Heritage, serving in that position until he was appointed as Minister of Water and Environment on 15 August 2012. Kamuntu was moved to the post of Minister of Tourism, Wildlife and Antiquities on 6 June 2016.

Ephraim Kamuntu was married to Ida Kamuntu, who died in May 2015.