The Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury (PSST), Ramathan Ggoobi, has called for a decisive shift toward results-driven public investment, saying that the time for well-written plans without efficient execution “must come to an end.”
Speaking Thursday morning at the 2nd Public Investment Management Conference at Makerere University’s Yusuf Lule Auditorium, Ggoobi emphasised that Uganda’s development ambitions—anchored on the National Development Plan IV (NDPIV) and the Tenfold Growth Strategy—will only be realised if persistent implementation weaknesses are addressed.
“Public trust is earned when projects benefit citizens; delays, cost overruns, and fragmented coordination must give way to a culture of accountability and performance,” he said.
Four priority sectors, one growth target
The PSST outlined Uganda’s plan to grow its economy tenfold, anchored in four priority sectors—Agro-Industrialisation, Tourism, Mineral-Based Industrialisation (including oil and gas), and Science, Technology and Innovation (including ICT)—collectively referred to as ATMS.
“Every public investment is a promise to Ugandans,” Ggoobi said. “Our responsibility is to deliver on that promise through teamwork, technical capacity, and relentless commitment.”
While commending progress in upstream project preparation and appraisal, he warned that “designing a good project is no longer enough.”
“We must ensure that projects are executed efficiently, completed on time, and deliver real results for our people,” he stressed.
New tools for better results
Ggoobi pointed to the recently launched National Public Investment Management (PIM) Policy and the Framework for Tracking Implementation as robust tools for efficient, transparent, and value-driven investments.
“It is now incumbent upon all Ministries, Departments, and Agencies to institutionalise the Policy’s provisions, align investments with sector priorities, and reinforce compliance through stronger internal systems,” he urged.
He also called for stronger partnerships with academia, development partners, and the private sector. “These actors bring invaluable expertise, resources, and innovation that can be leveraged to address capacity gaps and accelerate results,” he noted.
The conference, themed “Overcoming Implementation Barriers in Public Investment Management for Fiscal Sustainability”, is aimed at ensuring that Uganda’s ambitious investments deliver measurable economic returns without jeopardising debt sustainability. It provides a platform for policymakers, academics, practitioners, and development partners to share practical solutions and actionable strategies to turn plans into tangible results.
Ggoobi reminded participants that fiscal space is constrained, making it critical to maximise returns on every investment. “The successful implementation of public investments requires institutional collaboration and delivery capacity. We must work seamlessly across programmes, levels of government, and with the private sector,” he said.