The Secretary to Cabinet and Head of Public Service, Ms Lucy Nakyobe, has called for a fundamental rethink of Uganda’s development financing architecture to match the scale of the country’s socio-economic transformation ambitions.
Speaking at the High-Level Policy Dialogue on Uganda’s Development Financing Architecture at Sheraton Kampala Hotel, Ms Nakyobe said Uganda cannot sustainably finance its transformation through the traditional combination of the national budget, public borrowing and development assistance alone.
She said NDP IV seeks higher household incomes and employment through sustainable industrialisation, strategic infrastructure and stronger governance, requiring financing at a scale that matches these ambitions.
Ms Nakyobe said opportunities in agro-industrialisation, tourism, minerals, oil and gas, manufacturing, ICT, financial services, science and technology must be converted into bankable, investable and implementable propositions capable of attracting long-term capital.
She called for a broader financing approach that mobilises domestic savings, institutional investors, commercial and development finance, private equity, FDI, blended finance and PPPs, alongside stronger domestic revenue mobilisation and deeper capital markets.
She stressed the need to move from “financing projects to financing transformation”, with every shilling of public money delivering value and measurable development outcomes.
Ms Nakyobe called for stronger project preparation, procurement and contract management, monitoring, accountability and timely decision-making, noting that the objective is not simply to spend budgets but to deliver results.
She identified pension funds, insurance companies, banks and capital markets as important sources of long-term domestic capital and called for reforms that protect savers, maintain financial stability and create credible investment vehicles.
“Capital will flow where institutions are credible, rules are predictable and risks are properly understood,” she said.
Ms Nakyobe further emphasised the private sector’s central role in transformation, calling for predictable regulations, efficient Government processes, infrastructure, affordable finance and effective dispute resolution.
She also called for development partnerships to evolve beyond traditional assistance towards investment, trade, technology transfer, institutional capacity and mobilisation of private capital.
Ms Nakyobe identified governance, transparency, accountability and institutional credibility as integral to the financing architecture, urging public officers to make Government an enabler of development and to move “from delays to decisions.”
She said the dialogue should produce practical reforms, financing instruments, stronger project bankability, innovative financing mechanisms and clearly assigned actions, timelines and measurable outcomes.
