NABATANZI MIRIAM

Nabatanzi Miriam is a seasoned advocate with 18 years' experience in Legislative Drafting, Regulatory Compliance, Intellectual Property Rights Enforcement, Civil Registration and Vital Statistics, Corporate Registries, Insolvency Practice, using Information Technology for Business Transformation, and Strategic Management. Miriam has represented Uganda Registration Services Bureau (URSB) in civil matters. As a delegated public prosecutor, Miriam has represented the State in criminal matters. Miriam has also adjudicated complex disputes through the quasi-judicial powers exercised by Registrars at URSB. Of the 18 years of legal practice in Government, 7 have been at a senior managerial level with oversight over a team of 11 supervisees.

In her current role as Manager Compliance and Enforcement of URSB, Miriam has contributed to the automation and reengineering of many business processes, which has improved the overall efficiency and effectiveness of the Bureau. Miriam is results driven and is credited for having spearheaded the establishment of the first paperless registry in Uganda using IT infrastructure, the Security Interest in Movable Property Registry System.

Miriam holds a master's degree in law along with a bachelor's degree in law. Her extensive academic background is augmented by professional qualifications in Intellectual Property, Company Law, Quality Management Systems and Anti Money Laundering among other certifications. Miriam has also enhanced the reputation of the Bureau through positive relationships built with its stakeholders.

1. Was instrumental in the design and development of the Mobile Vital Records Systems (MVRS), a low-cost technology solution that was used in 135 by Government and missionary hospitals and 58 of the 112 districts of Uganda in 2014 to capture births and deaths registration data at community and hospital levels and transmit it to URSB in real time using mobile phones and a web-based application. The MVRS scaled up coverage and increased national birth registration rates by an estimated 9 percent increase from 21% in 2006 (Uganda Demographic Health Survey 2006) to 30% in 2011 (Uganda Demographic Health Survey 2011).

2. Was part of multi sectoral team that designed the ICT specifications for capturing data under the National Security Information System (National ID) Project in 2013. The tool was used to successfully register and issue national identity cards to over 16 million Ugandans, in conformity and compliance with the legal requirements.

3. As Contract Manager, championed the design, development and roll out of one of the first paperless registries in Uganda in 2018. The US $ 300,000 online Security Interest in Movable Property Registry System provides a platform for secured creditors to register their security interests in borrowers' movable collateral and establish their priority rights. This has enhanced transparency in movable asset backed financing.

5. Was part of the team that revolutionized the civil registry from a fully centralized manual registry that used typewriters, to a digital, secure and decentralized registry.

6. Headed the multi sectoral National Working Group which conducted a money laundering and terrorism financing risk assessment on legal persons and arrangements in Uganda in March 2021. This action was a crucial measure for removing Uganda from the Financial Action Task Force gray list.

7. Was part of the Uganda's Ease of Doing Business Committee that advised on the key (legal, policy and institutional) reforms which were undertaken and contributed to Uganda's improvement on the World Bank's Doing Business index.

8. Was part of the Joint Technical Implementation Committee that that was entrusted with the responsibility of advising on the design and space requirements for the Uganda Business Facilitation Centre (UBFC) on Plot 1 Baskerville Avenue in Kololo. The UBFC houses the head offices of Uganda Registration Services Bureau, Uganda Investment Authority and Capital Markets Authority.

9. Was instrumental in the reengineering of business processes, standardization of service delivery standards and formulating URSB's 5-year Anti-Corruption Strategy which plays a critical role in strengthening the fight against corruption at URSB.

10. Was part of the Inter-Institutional Committee which formulated Uganda's Financial Sector Development Strategy for Uganda that aims at generating efficiency, optimizing outcomes and harnessing available resources towards attainment of a robust financial sector.

11. Was part of the team that successfully identified and negotiated funding opportunities from several development partners (including World Bank, UNICEF, UNFPA, Plan Uganda and Financial Sector Deepening Uganda) to support URSB unfunded priorities.

12. Spearheaded the drafting and subsequent enactment of the Security Interest in Movable Property Act No. 8 of 2019 in line with international best practice and stakeholder expectations.

13. Was part of the team that successfully transitioned the births, deaths and adoption registration function from URSB to the National Identification and Registration Authority (NIRA).

14. Part of the team that drafted the Registration of Persons Act 4 of 2015 and enabling Regulations which harmonized the existing data collection and management initiatives by removing duplicity in registration efforts and wastage of time and resources. The Act established a central registration body, the National Identification and Registration Authority.

15. Spearheaded critical reforms to the then marriage registration statutory instruments with the objective of fostering the spirit of non-discrimination as enshrined in the 1995 Constitution of Uganda. This was achieved through the harmonization of fees payable by all religious denominations.

16. Championed the reform of the birth and death registration regulations that created more registration points in Uganda as a way of taking registration services closer to the users.

17. Spearheaded the amendment of Uganda's Copyright and Neigbouring Rights Act of 2006, which yielded the Copyright and Neigbouring Rights (Amendment) Bill of 2025.

Licenses

1. Appointment as a Public Prosecutor by the Director of Public Prosecution for the year 2025

2. Practicing Certificate for the year 2025

Certificates

1. Sensitization on the new Public Procurement and Disposal Framework Certificate, issued by the Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority on 5th August 2004.

2. Intellectual Property Rights in the Global Economy for Least Developed Countries Certificate, issued by the Swedish Patent and Registration Office and the World Intellectual Property Organization in May 2008.

3. Customer Care and Public Relations Certificate issued Link Point Services and URSB on 20th January 2009.

4. Flexibilities of the TRIPS Agreement Certificate, issued by United Nations Conference on Trade and Development and InWent on 22nd May 2009.

5. Regional Seminar on Plant Variety Protection under the UPOV Convention, issued by United States Patent and Trademarks Office, ARIPO and UPOV on 26th February 2010

6. Building Effective Insolvency and Secured Transactions Systems in East and Southern Africa, issued by URSB on 21st October 2011.

7. Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) Training Course Certificate, issued by Competitiveness and Enterprise Development Project and Jonkheer Consulting on 24th August 2017.

8. Techniques of Management of Domestic and International Contracts Certificate, issued by Inspire International on 5th October 2017.

9. Role of a Lawyer under the Companies Act, 2012 Certificate, issued by Inspire International on 15th March 2018.

10. Internal Audit Based on ISO 9001:2015 Quality Management Systems Certificate, issued by Uganda National Bureau of Standards on 31st October 2018.

11. Investigation and Prosecution of Money Laundering Crimes and Asset Recovery Certificate, issued by the Africa Alliance Partnership Conference of Western Attorneys General and Financial Intelligence Authority on 3rd April 2019.

12. Biosafety Legal Training Certificate, issued by Uganda National Council for Science and Technology on 19th July 2019.

13. Training in Basic Investigations and Prosecutorial Skills Certificate, issued by the Office of the Director of Public Prosecutions on 26th July 2019.

14. ISO 9001:2015 Awareness Training Certificate, issued by Quality Assurance and Management Consultants on 18th March 2020.

15. Internal Auditing of Quality Management Systems to 9001:2015 Certificate, issued by Quality Assurance and Management Consultants on 16th October 2020.

16. Legal Persons and Legal Arrangements Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Risk Assessment Certificate, issued by Financial Intelligence Authority in March 2021.

17. Change Management Certificate, issued by Centre for International Legal Cooperation and Law Development Centre on 8th December 2021.

18. FATF Beneficial Ownership Curriculum Certificate, issued by the FATF Academy on 15th January 2024.

19. Investigating, Preparing and Prosecuting Criminal Intellectual Property Cases Certificate, issued by International IP Crime Investigators College on 16th May 2024.

20. Leadership and Innovation for Transformation - LIFT, issued by Solutions Africa, a Maxwell Leadership certified team.

21. Certified Governance, Risk, and Compliance Professional (GRCP) course from Atton Institute Dubai in October 2024.

Recognitions

1. Appreciation of services rendered as Team Member, Legal and Investigations under the National Security Information System by the National Identification and Registration Authority on 30th June 2015.

2. Appreciation for contribution as a presenter at the 2019 URSB Insolvency Conference by URSB on 13th November 2019.

3. Recognition for the successful completion of the Money Laundering and Terrorism Financing Risk Assessment of Legal Persons and Legal Arrangements in Uganda by the Financial Intelligence Authority in March 2021.

4. Appreciation for contribution in the 2021 research of the Global Indicators Group by the World Bank Group.

5. Appreciation for contribution to the Doing Business 2021 by the World Bank Group.

• Involvement in Community and Church service.
• Reading.
• Yoga.

1. East Africa Law Society

2. Uganda Law Society

3. Uganda Christian Lawyers' Fraternity