The Gambia is looking to deepen its public investment management (PIM) systems by drawing lessons from Uganda, with a high-level delegation from the West African country visiting Makerere University’s Public Investment Management (PIM) Centre of Excellence to benchmark Uganda’s experience.

The delegation, led by Mr Baboucarr Jobe, Permanent Secretary in The Gambia’s Ministry of Finance, visited Makerere University’s Public Investment Management (PIM) Centre of Excellence to learn from Uganda’s approach to project conceptualisation, appraisal, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.

The visit is part of wider reforms being undertaken by The Gambia to strengthen its economic, judicial and institutional systems, with public investment management identified as a critical area for improvement.

Speaking during the visit, Mr Jobe said The Gambia had embarked on PIM reforms in collaboration with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which advised the country to benchmark its systems against countries with relevant experience.

“Several countries were recommended, but we ultimately chose Uganda. I am happy to say that we are glad we selected Uganda for this assignment,” he said.

He noted that although the delegation initially intended to focus specifically on public investment management, the visit had exposed them to broader areas with potential for cooperation between Uganda and The Gambia.

The delegation also visited Makerere University’s Innovation Centre, where it explored initiatives that could support collaboration between the two countries in advancing economic development.

Mr Jobe said institutions in The Gambia, including the University of The Gambia and the Civil Service University, could potentially collaborate with Makerere University and its Innovation Centre.

Closing gaps in public investment

Mr Jobe identified project conceptualisation, project evaluation, project implementation, monitoring and evaluation as some of the major gaps in The Gambia’s public investment management system.

He said the delegation was particularly impressed by Uganda’s systematic approach to managing public investments and the collaboration among institutions involved in the process.

“What has impressed us in Uganda is the manner in which the public investment management process is carried out step by step,” he said.

The Gambian delegation also observed collaboration among key government institutions, including the Ministry of Finance, Office of the Prime Minister, Office of the President and other stakeholders.

Mr Jobe said such institutional collaboration was an important lesson that The Gambia would seek to replicate.

The delegation had an opportunity to participate in a Development Committee meeting, where they observed how different government offices work together to advance Uganda’s development priorities.

Makerere Centre plays key role

The visit was hosted by the Public Investment Management Centre of Excellence, which is integrated into Uganda’s broader public investment management system.

Prof. Edward Bbaale welcomed the Gambian delegation and said the visit provided an opportunity for peer learning and exchange of practical experiences between the two countries.

He said countries were at different stages of strengthening their public investment systems, making peer learning an important avenue for identifying approaches that could be adapted to different institutional contexts.

“We hope to share not only what has worked well, but also some of the challenges we have encountered and the lessons we have drawn from them,” Prof. Bbaale said.

He encouraged the delegation to engage openly with the Makerere team, ask questions and share their own experiences to ensure that the benchmarking exercise was practical and mutually beneficial.

Building capacity for better investments

Prof. Eria Hisali, who presented an overview of the Centre, emphasised the importance of strengthening public investment systems to ensure that limited public resources are used effectively.

He explained that capital investments remain a key driver of economic growth, but governments often face resource constraints that make it impossible to implement every proposed project.

A strong public investment management system, he said, enables governments to assess and select projects based on their potential returns and development impact.

The Centre aims to support this process by building a pool of well-prepared projects at different stages of development, enabling government to make informed decisions about which projects to finance and implement.

The PIM Centre of Excellence was established with support from the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office (FCDO), the UK Trust Fund and the Government of Uganda. It initially operated as a project before being mainstreamed into the Government of Uganda, with its resources now coming directly from government.

Since its establishment, the Centre has trained 526 public-sector officials in areas related to public investment management.

Its training programmes cover key stages of the PIM cycle, including project conceptualisation, integrated analysis, feasibility studies, financial and economic appraisal, risk analysis, project execution, procurement and evaluation.

Strengthening South–South cooperation

For Mr Jobe, the visit was also an opportunity to challenge the tendency of African countries to look outside the continent for solutions to development challenges.

He argued that African countries operate in broadly similar environments and face many common challenges, making the continent an important source of knowledge and practical solutions.

“We need to move away from always looking outside Africa for solutions. There are many valuable initiatives being undertaken by our African brothers and sisters, and it is important that we learn from one another,” he said.

He proposed stronger partnerships between institutions in Uganda and The Gambia, including possible collaboration between universities and civil service training institutions.

“This visit is one step in that direction. South–South cooperation needs to be further strengthened,” he said.

Investing limited resources for greater impact

The Gambian delegation’s interest in public investment management is closely linked to the country’s development challenges.

According to Mr Jobe, The Gambia’s GDP is currently just under US$3 billion, with annual economic growth estimated at between five and six per cent. Inflation has declined significantly from double-digit levels to approximately seven per cent, although poverty remains high at more than 50 per cent.

He said strengthening public investment management was therefore essential to ensuring that the country’s limited public resources generate tangible benefits for citizens.

“This visit will help us ensure that public investment and the limited public resources available to us are utilised efficiently and provide benefits to the average Gambian,” he said.

He added that achieving value for money from public resources would enable citizens to experience greater benefits from government investments and contribute to poverty reduction. The visit marked an important step towards strengthening institutional cooperation between Uganda and The Gambia, while positioning Makerere University and its PIM Centre of Excellence as a potential partner in building public-sector capacity beyond Uganda.

Makerere University on 20^th August 2026, hosted the historic inaugural conference on the Theory of Noonomy, bringing together scholars, policymakers, international partners and students to explore a bold new paradigm for addressing modernity’s deepest crises. Organised by the School of Economics, College of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS) in collaboration with the S.Y. Witte Institute for New Industrial Development, St. Petersburg Polytechnic University, Russia and supported by the Makerere University Research and Innovations Fund (Mak-RIF), the conference was held under the theme “The Theory of Noonomy and Its Role in Resolving Modernity Issues: Pathways to Sustainable Social and Economic Transformation.”

The event held in the Senior Common Room, Main Building underscored Makerere’s strategic commitment to thought leadership in Africa’s transformation, positioning the University as a continental hub for alternative development thinking.

Bold Thinking Amid Global Crises

Representing Vice Chancellor Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe, the Deputy Vice Chancellor in charge of Academic Affairs (DVCAA), Prof. Sarah Ssali described the gathering as both timely and historic.

“Across the globe, we continue to witness systemic crises rooted in market fundamentalism, unchecked resource depletion, and the ideology of growth for the sake of growth. These contradictions are not abstract, but they manifest in climate change, widening inequality, and the erosion of social cohesion” Prof. Ssali stated.

On this note, she lauded the Theory of Noonomy, developed by Prof. Sergey Bodrunov, as a transformative lens. She noted that Prof. Sergey Bodrunov’s Theory of Noonomy that prioritizes reason, humanistic values and solidarism, offers a sustainable path forward in the midst of global crises driven by market fundamentalism, resource depletion and endless growth, exacerbated by climate change, inequality, and social erosion. The Theory envisions a shift to a New Industrial Society of the Second Generation (NIS.2) where knowledge, technology, and human potential drive progress.

“Hosting this conference is not accidental,” Prof. Ssali affirmed, adding that it “Reflects our commitment to shaping debates that matter for Africa’s future.” She outlined the conference’s five core objectives: to introduce and contextualise Noonomy within Africa’s socio-economic realities; to explore solutions to systemic challenges such as inequality, resource scarcity and climate change; to identify pathways for integrating Noonomy principles into policy, education and institutional frameworks; to foster collaboration among scholars, policymakers and practitioners; and to lay the groundwork for establishing a Noonomy Centre at the School of Economics, CoBAMS.

She added that once established, the Centre will serve as a hub for continental dialogue, research, and innovation, hence positioning Makerere and her partners to “transform the theory of Noonomy into a living agenda for Africa, that prioritizes knowledge, human potential, and sustainable transformation”.

Noonomy’s Emphasis of Knowledge as the Primary Productive Force

Prof. Sergey Bodrunov, Director of the S.Y. Witte Institute and author of the theory, addressed the conference virtually and underscored Noonomy’s relevance in an era of technological power that can either destroy or elevate humanity. He argued that neoliberal models have entrenched inequality and ecological crises, while the gradual removal of humans from direct material processes open a path to a non-economic mode of satisfying rational human needs.

Additionally, Prof. Nikolay Dmitriev, Director of the S.Y. Witte Institute expanded on the practical implications for Africa. He stressed that technological sovereignty must be pursued without repeating the dependency traps of earlier industrialisation. Cognitive technologies, he noted, can either subordinate humans to the technosphere or place technology in service of human potential. On the other hand, he noted that Africa’s rapid demographic growth and cultural diversity make it a critical laboratory for Noonomy’s application.

Panel Scrutinizes Noonomy under the lens of Ugandan Realities

Moderating the high-level panel, the Principal CoBAMS, Prof. Edward Bbaale, set the stage with a question on the Ugandan context: Can the country move from a technology-consuming economy to a knowledge-producing one while remaining human-centred and inclusive? He outlined three tests any technology adoption should pass under a Noonomy lens; productivity, human development, and inclusion.

“The first test is the productivity test. Does it improve what society can produce? The second test is the human development test. Does it expand skills, creativity, capabilities, and quality of life? And then number three, the inclusion test. Are its benefits widely spread, or does it deepen exclusion?” Prof. Bbale pondered, as he equally thought to interrogate how the theory aligns with Uganda’s tenfold growth strategy and National Development Plan IV.

Panellists included Prof. Robert Wamala-Director of Research, Innovations and Partnerships (DRIP), Makerere University, Dr. Robert Ngobi-Director Policy Research, National Planning Authority (NPA), Mr. Davis Vuningoma who represented Dr. Albert Musisi-Commissioner Macroeconomic Department, Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED) and Prof. Nikolay D. Dmitriev. Discussions centred on mainstreaming knowledge as a productive force in national planning, financing long-term knowledge-intensive capabilities, and ensuring industrialisation expands rather than displaces human potential.

Prof. Wamala emphasised the need to Africanise the theory, “We should not simply import the concept… Our role should be to interrogate, Africanise and generate evidence on what a knowledge and intelligence-driven economy means in the African context.” He proposed an interdisciplinary research programme, curriculum transformation from knowledge transmission to intelligence development, and the creation of an African Noonomy network led by Makerere.

Dr. Ngobi in his submission noted that although the principles of Noonomy are already addressed by aspects of developing planning, he pointed to the need to address a series of “missing middles” attributed to: reliable and well-costed electricity supply to support hi-tech industries; infrastructure in form of roads, digital infrastructure; seamless interconnectivity in the form of mass rapid transport systems for people and goods; mass education systems; mass health systems that are not only sensitive to local diseases but also viable for medical tourism; as well as knowledge research and innovation informed by national priorities.

Addressing financing of national development priorities, Mr. Vuningoma emphasised the Government appreciation of the need to fund Science, Technology and Innovation (STI) as a pillar for economic transformation. As such he shared that over UGX 1 Trillion had been allocated to the STI sector to support innovations particularly in health.

Prof. Dmitriev on his part addressed the research topics that should become priorities for the first stage of cooperation between Makerere University and the World Association of Noonomy and the S.Y. Witte Institute of Noonomy and New Industrial Development.

Questions from the floor and online participants focused on inclusivity of youth and women, reconciliation of Artificial Intelligence (AI) with African cultural values and indigenous knowledge, and mechanisms to prevent elite capture of automated production. Panelists stressed that Noonomy’s emphasis on solidarity and human-centred development provides the ethical foundation for addressing these concerns through joint research.

Courtesy Call on the Vice Chancellor

Key on the agenda of the visiting delegation was a courtesy call on the Vice Chancellor, Prof. Barnabas Nawangwe. In his remarks, Prof. Nawangwe thanked Prof. Sergey D. Bodrunov, author of the Theory of Noonomy and Prof. Dmitriev for choosing Makerere out of all African Universities as partner in advancement of future collaborations and research. He added that setting up a Centre of Excellence in Noonomy at the School of Economics would bolster the University’s aspirations to become Africa’s thought leader in knowledge generation for societal transformation and development.

Transitioning from Dialogue to Institutional Action

In his closing remarks, Dean of the School of Economics, Prof. Ibrahim Mike Okumu described the conference as the start of a sustained institutional relationship rather than a one-off event. He committed the School to developing a concrete research agenda with named outputs and timelines, including joint studies on automation and labour markets in African economies, doctoral exchanges, and empirical testing of Noonomy claims against Ugandan and East African data.

“Let us treat Noonomy as a diagnostic, not a blueprint,” Prof. Okumu urged. “Its greatest value to us is not a policy program awaiting adoption, but a lens sharpening the questions our own planners must answer directly. How do we build human and creative capacity alongside industrial capacity rather than after it? How does this school develop a research agenda that studies Uganda’s own transition rather than import a finished framework wholesale?” he pondered.

He announced Makerere’s forthcoming participation in the World Association of Noonomy Congress in Italy and reiterated the University’s determination to establish the proposed Noonomy Centre as a hub for continental dialogue, research and innovation.

The conference concluded with exchanges of gifts, group photographs and expressions of gratitude to partners including the Government of Uganda through Mak-RIF, the Russian Embassy, and the S.Y. Witte Institute.

“New doctoral students urged to pursue research that delivers solutions to Uganda’s socio-economic challenges.”

Makerere University has launched two new taught Doctor of Philosophy (PhD) programmes namely: The PhD in Management (by coursework) and the PhD in Accounting and Finance (by coursework).

The programmes, launched on 4^th August 2026, under the School of Business at the College of Business and Management Sciences (CoBAMS), are among the first taught PhD programmes in the two disciplines in Uganda.

The launch was presided over by Makerere University Deputy Vice Chancellor for Academic Affairs, Prof. Sarah Ssali, during a three-day orientation programme for the inaugural PhD students running from 4^th to 6^th August 2026.

Prof. Ssali challenged the new scholars to pursue evidence-based research addressing pressing challenges facing Uganda and the wider world.

“Choosing to pursue a PhD is not an ordinary decision. It is a commitment to becoming part of an institution with a rich history of research, innovation and knowledge creation,” Prof. Ssali said.

She told the students that the purpose of doctoral training should go beyond acquiring academic qualifications, urging them to focus on solving real-world problems.

“A PhD should prepare you to solve problems. You should ask yourselves: ‘What problem am I trying to solve?’ Research should not simply produce another thesis that sits on a shelf in the library. It should generate knowledge, products, services, policies and innovations that improve people’s lives,” she said.

Prof. Ssali explained that research outputs should not only be physical products, but could also include frameworks, management systems, policies and models that transform society.

“For those in the service disciplines, your product could be a framework, a model, a policy, a management system or a new way of delivering services that changes how society functions. That is why we do research,” she said.

She urged the scholars to remain committed throughout their doctoral journey, noting that persistence and discipline are critical to completing a PhD.

“A PhD requires commitment. It requires discipline. It requires sacrifice. Success in a PhD is determined by persistence,” Prof. Ssali said.

She encouraged students to embrace critical thinking and challenge existing ideas through evidence-based inquiry.

Prof. Ssali implored the scholars to focus their research on areas that can contribute to economic transformation, including agriculture, manufacturing, taxation, supply chains, governance, finance, climate change and technology.

“Uganda faces many challenges, but every challenge is also an opportunity for research. Research should not stop at identifying problems. It should propose practical, implementable solutions,” she said.

Makerere positions graduate training at centre of research agenda

The Principal of CoBAMS, Prof. Edward Bbaale, described the launch of the programmes as a major milestone in Makerere University’s agenda to strengthen its position as a research-intensive institution.

Prof. Bbaale said the PhD programmes represent a strategic investment in developing researchers, innovators and academic leaders.

“Today’s occasion is very significant because it marks the launch of the taught Doctor of Philosophy in Management and the Doctor of Philosophy in Accounting and Finance programmes,” he said.

“These are among the first taught PhD programmes in these disciplines in Uganda, and we are very proud of this achievement.”

He commended the School of Business leadership and faculty for developing the programmes, acknowledging that establishing doctoral programmes requires commitment, teamwork and dedication to academic excellence.

He observed that the programmes align with Makerere’s strategic goal of becoming a research-led university.

“Graduate training must be at the centre of that transformation. Events like this one—the admission and orientation of PhD students—are exactly the kinds of activities that define a research-intensive university,” he said.

Prof. Bbaale encouraged the first cohort students to publish their research in reputable journals and complete their studies within the required period.

“Complete your coursework successfully. Progress through your research diligently. Graduate within the required period. Publish your work in reputable, high-impact journals. Your success will create a strong foundation upon which future cohorts will build,” Prof. Bbaale said.

He guided that doctoral research should provide evidence to guide national decision-making.

“There is a great demand for evidence-based policy advice in Uganda. Government needs researchers who can provide evidence, not simply opinions,” he said. “Your research should generate evidence upon which decisions can be made.”

School of Business welcomes pioneer cohort

The Dean of the School of Business, Associate Professor Godfrey Akileng, welcomed the students and described the programmes as part of the school’s continued growth in graduate training.

“We are delighted to welcome you as you begin this journey with us. We hope that you will stay with us throughout the next three years of your PhD studies,” Assoc. Prof. Akileng said.

He asserted that the doctoral journey would be demanding, but assured students of support from the faculty.

“The programme is demanding, and the research component will be very intensive. Our hope is that we shall walk this journey together and, three years from now, celebrate your graduation as one cohort,” he said.

He highlighted that a PhD is about knowledge creation rather than simply earning a title.

“A PhD is not about being called ‘Doctor.’ It is about becoming a contributor to knowledge. It is about transforming yourself. It is about solving problems. It is about making an impact,” Assoc. Prof. Akileng said.

Assoc. Prof. Akileng advised students to build strong relationships with supervisors while taking responsibility for their own research.

Building research networks

Dr Caroline Twongirwe, Assistant Lecturer in the Department of Accounting and Finance at CoBAMS, urged the new scholars to begin developing research networks early in their PhD journey.

She cautioned students against focusing only on coursework while postponing research preparation.

“If we spend a whole year focusing only on coursework and then begin thinking about research later, the target of completing within three years may not be achievable,” Dr Twongirwe said.

She said collaboration is essential for producing quality research and accessing international opportunities.

“For us to produce quality research, generate new ideas and contribute to knowledge, we need collaboration,” she said.

Dr Twongirwe explained that research networks can provide mentorship, expertise, funding opportunities and greater visibility for scholars.

“Your networking must be intentional. Identify people with whom you share common interests and who can help you move forward in your research journey,” she said.

She encouraged students to attend seminars, conferences and engage with researchers in their areas of interest.

“Research networks introduce you to mentorship and guidance, access to expertise, collaboration opportunities, funding opportunities and greater visibility for your research,” she said.

Academic regulations and research tracking

Dr Alfred Tingo from Makerere University’s Directorate of Graduate Training urged the new PhD students to understand university regulations, complete registration requirements and remain engaged throughout their studies. He called upon the students to maintain communication with their supervisors and university structures.

Dr Tingo highlighted the importance of the university’s Research Information Management System (RIMS) in monitoring students’ progress.

“RIMS helps us track your research progress. Your research topic, proposal development, approvals and supervisor interactions are captured in the system,” he said.

The new PhD programmes are expected to strengthen Makerere University’s contribution to research, innovation and policy development by producing scholars capable of generating knowledge for Uganda, Africa and the global community.

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