General
Minister Kasaija Calls for Strategic Public Investments to Drive Uganda’s Economic Transformation at Inaugural PIM Conference
The Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Hon. Matia Kasaija, has outlined Uganda’s economic growth prospects through strategic public investments aimed at achieving sustainable development and transforming lives, particularly for the youth. He highlighted this vision during the inaugural Public Investment Management (PIM) Conference, held on Thursday, October 17, 2024, at Makerere University.
“Public investment is clearly the backbone of our nation’s development, particularly in building the infrastructure, human capital, and institutions necessary to elevate Uganda to middle-income status and beyond,” Kasaija remarked. He called for increased investments to propel Uganda’s economy from its current $50 billion in the 2022/2023 financial year to $500 billion over the next 15 years.
The conference, organized under the theme “Navigating the Landscape of Public Investment Management in Uganda: Current Realities and Future Outlook,” underscored the need for partnerships in the investment sector. The Minister emphasized how infrastructural development can catalyze economic growth and create new job opportunities.
“Investments in infrastructure such as roads, energy, and digital connectivity can stimulate economic growth and attract private sector investment, leading to job creation,” Kasaija emphasized.
He also highlighted the importance of integrating public investment management with government welfare programs such as the Parish Development Model (PDM), Emyooga, and small business recovery funds, which offer critical financing for entrepreneurship. The government is committed to enhancing the efficiency of public spending, focusing on a fiscal consolidation strategy to restore fiscal discipline and reduce public debt.
“Fiscal consolidation does not mean cutting back on investment, but rather optimizing spending by prioritizing high-impact projects that directly contribute to economic growth. Our public investment must align with this strategic direction,” Kasaija added.
To maximize the value of government investments, Kasaija called for a public management system capable of delivering inclusive and sustainable socio-economic transformation, with resilience to issues such as climate change and sustainable development goals.
The Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, Mr. Ramathan Ggoobi, also addressed the conference, focusing on the government’s efforts to improve the quality of projects at their inception. He noted the establishment of a dedicated department of project analysis and public investment within the Ministry of Finance, which oversees the ongoing PIM reform process.
Mr. Ggoobi mentioned that the ministry has developed and disseminated guidelines and standardized manuals for project preparation and appraisal. “Our objective is to build the center’s capacity for research that will inform policy changes in PIM,” he said.
He highlighted the positive impact of these reforms, noting that the quality of projects submitted by ministries and agencies has significantly improved. However, Ggoobi stressed the need for more stringent monitoring, especially regarding the low execution rates of externally funded projects, which continue to face delays.
“Cost and time overruns are common, and projects are often poorly executed, which shortens their lifespan. To address this, we are developing a framework for tracking project implementation, fostering a culture of accountability, transparency, and continuous improvement,” Ggoobi revealed.
During the panel discussion, Dr. Joseph Muvawala, Executive Director of the National Planning Authority, advised that the government should focus on constructing the Standard Gauge Railway to ensure that every Ugandan benefits from the infrastructure development. He emphasized that this would be a transformative project for the entire country.
Ms. Barbara Magezi Ndamira, a Senior Public Sector Specialist from the World Bank, pointed out that one of the biggest challenges in Uganda’s PIM is accountability. “The biggest issue for me in the value chain of PIM is accountability. Who is holding the whip to ensure that a five-year project is completed within the set timeframe?” she asked, raising concerns about the lack of stringent oversight mechanisms.
Adding to Ms. Magezi’s concerns, Dr. Asuman Lukwago, Permanent Secretary of the Education Service Commission, suggested that every project should be implemented with a service standard in place, prescribing the timeframes for minor and major audits to ensure sustainability. This, he noted, would help track the progress and quality of project execution.
Dr. Callist Tindimugaya, the Acting Director of Water Resources Management at the Ministry of Water and Environment, emphasized the importance of writing holistic projects that include not only their core functions but also ways in which the public can benefit economically. “We want to explore how a water project can improve household incomes,” he said, highlighting the Ministry’s focus on integrating economic benefits into public projects.
The keynote speaker, Professor Glenn P. Jenkins from Queens University in Canada, shared insights on the current state and future of Uganda’s Public Investment Management System, established in 2016. Jenkins emphasized Uganda’s leadership in Africa in creating a modern PIM system, which integrates financial, economic, and social criteria into public sector decision-making.
“A modern PIM system is more than just investment appraisal—it’s a comprehensive decision-making framework for the public sector,” Prof. Jenkins explained. He also discussed the system’s IT capabilities, which track and capture all project-related data as it progresses.
Makerere University’s Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, called on all stakeholders to collaborate and develop strategies to address gaps in public sector investments. He urged government officials, academics, development partners, and practitioners to use the conference platform to align strategies, share experiences, and explore new approaches to improve Uganda’s public investment outcomes.
“This platform is an opportunity for us all to come together and develop prudent solutions that will elevate our economy,” Prof. Nawangwe stated.
Prof. Edward Bbaale, Principal of the College of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS) at Makerere, praised the alignment of the conference theme with the mission of Makerere University’s Public Investment Management Centre of Excellence (PIM CoE). The Centre has been at the forefront of providing transformative training and research for key stakeholders in Uganda’s public sector.
“Since its inception, the Centre has focused on building the capacity of Uganda’s public sector to manage public investments effectively and ensure value for money,” Prof. Bbaale said. He noted that over 200 public service officials have been trained in essential areas such as public investment management, financial and risk analysis, project implementation, and monitoring and evaluation (M&E), equipping them with the practical skills needed to enhance project appraisal and evaluation.
In conclusion, the Public Investment Management Conference provided a critical platform for government officials, academics, and development partners to explore strategies for improving the efficiency and impact of Uganda’s public investments. As highlighted by the Minister of Finance and other key speakers, the focus on accountability, fiscal discipline, and inclusive socio-economic transformation is essential for driving the country towards middle-income status. With ongoing reforms and strengthened partnerships, Uganda’s public investment management system holds great potential to elevate the nation’s development trajectory.
Makerere University has officially launched its Strategic Plan 2025-2030, marking a major milestone in its commitment to strengthening research, innovation, and human capital development in line with Uganda’s national development priorities.
The launch brought together senior government officials, university leadership, and development planners, including the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Hon. Henry Musasizi, and a representative from the National Planning Authority (NPA), alongside the University Vice Chancellor.
A Vision Anchored in National Transformation
Speaking at the launch, the Vice Chancellor underscored the University’s ambition to significantly expand graduate training and strengthen its contribution to national development. He noted that the institution is targeting a return to pre-COVID enrolment levels and a substantial increase in postgraduate numbers by 2030, with a focus on producing highly skilled graduates, innovators, and researchers.
He emphasized that the Strategic Plan positions the University as a key driver of Uganda’s transformation through knowledge generation, innovation, and entrepreneurship, aligned with national priorities.
“The staffing distribution is shown here. Under the approved establishment, we intended to have 419 Professors, but we currently have only 75. We planned for 473 Associate Professors, but currently have only 144. This clearly demonstrates that we still have considerable room for growth in strengthening our academic staff profile,” the VC said.
The VC appreciated researchers and research centres, that continue to attract substantial research funding. He highlighted the Infectious Diseases Institute (IDI) and the Makerere University Walter Reed Project which attracted approximately US$70 million in international research funding into Uganda.
“When you combine the grants won by all our researchers through competitive international funding, the total exceeds US$200 million,” he said.
In her remarks, the Chairperson of the University Council, Dr. Lorna Magara, described the Strategic Plan as more than an institutional roadmap, calling it “a public covenant with the people of Uganda.”
She noted that the Plan marks “the launch of Makerere University’s next chapter,” adding that decisions taken over the next five years will shape not only the future of the institution, but also Uganda’s development trajectory through graduates, research, innovations, and leadership.
Dr. Magara emphasized Makerere’s unique national role as Uganda’s premier public university, entrusted with public resources and public confidence.
“Every investment made in Makerere must produce measurable value for the people of Uganda,” she said, underscoring the need for accountability, integrity, and impact.
Ambitious Targets for Transformation
The Council Chairperson and the Vice chancellor outlined bold performance targets under the Strategic Plan, including doubling postgraduate enrolment, increasing STEM enrolment from 30% to 55%, improving PhD completion rates from 10% to 35%, and more than doubling peer-reviewed research output, alongside a significant rise in patents and innovations.
Dr. Magara stressed that these targets are not aspirations alone but binding commitments against which institutional performance will be measured.
“Ambition is precisely what this moment demands. A strategic plan is not measured by the elegance of its language, but by the lives it transforms,” she said.
Call for Stronger Governance and Legal Reform
Dr. Magara also highlighted the need for reform of the Universities and Other Tertiary Institutions Act, Cap. 262, noting that the current legal framework has not kept pace with the evolving realities of university governance and innovation.
She called on Government and Parliament to support a timely review of the Act to enable universities to better optimise knowledge systems, productive assets, and innovation capacity in support of national development.
Government Endorsement and Strategic Alignment
Hon. Henry Musasizi commended the University for developing a forward-looking Strategic Plan aligned with Uganda’s Vision 2040 and the Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV), which serves as the foundation for the country’s Tenfold Growth Strategy.
He explained that Uganda’s ambition to grow its economy from about USD 50 billion to USD 500 billion requires accelerated growth driven by productivity gains, innovation, and strong human capital development.
“Universities are central actors in national transformation. They are engines of knowledge creation, innovation, and human capital development,” he said.
The Minister stressed that government priorities include strengthening research, promoting industrialization, and ensuring that knowledge generated in universities is translated into practical solutions that support economic growth. He further highlighted the importance of accountability, efficiency, and value for money in public investments in higher education.
Universities as Drivers of the Tenfold Growth Strategy
In his presentation, the Senior Planner at the National Planning Authority, Samuel Kasule, emphasized that the Strategic Plan is firmly anchored in Uganda’s comprehensive development framework under Vision 2040 and NDP IV.
He noted that the Tenfold Growth Strategy seeks to accelerate Uganda’s economic growth into double-digit territory, enabling the country to achieve structural transformation and reach upper middle-income status.
Kasule underscored that universities play a critical role in this transformation through labour productivity, research, and innovation. He pointed out that priority sectors such as agriculture, tourism, minerals, oil and gas, and ICT depend heavily on skilled graduates and strong research ecosystems.
He also highlighted the importance of competency-based education, alignment of academic programmes with national human resource needs, and strengthening postgraduate training and research outputs.
A Shared Commitment to Transformation
Across all speeches, a strong message emerged: universities are central to Uganda’s development agenda and must evolve into research-intensive institutions that directly contribute to economic transformation.
The Strategic Plan 2025-2030 was widely commended for its focus on innovation, industry collaboration, digital transformation, and the commercialization of research outputs.
Government leaders reaffirmed continued support for higher education institutions through research funding, innovation ecosystems, and strengthened university–industry partnerships.
Conclusion
The launch of the Strategic Plan 2030 signals a renewed commitment to positioning the University as a key partner in Uganda’s development journey. With strong alignment to national priorities, the Plan is expected to accelerate research, innovation, and skills development necessary for achieving Uganda’s long-term economic ambitions. The Strategic Plan may be accessed at: https://mak.ac.ug/about/strategic-plan
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