The newly appointed Minister of Finance, Henry Musasizi, has outlined an ambitious five-pillar agenda aimed at transitioning Uganda from incremental economic growth to what he described as an “exponential economic take-off.”
Speaking during his maiden top management meeting at the Ministry of Finance on Wednesday, Musasizi said his tenure will focus on accelerating economic transformation, improving public sector efficiency, boosting domestic revenue collection, supporting wealth creation, and ensuring prudent management of future oil revenues.
At the heart of his agenda is a target to grow Uganda into a USD 500 billion economy, a goal he said will be achieved through the implementation of the government’s tenfold growth strategy.
“We shall relentlessly execute the tenfold growth strategy to turn Uganda into a 500 billion-dollar economy,” Musasizi told the ministry’s top management team.
The minister also pledged to enforce strict accountability and performance standards within government institutions, saying the ministry must shift its focus from merely spending public funds to delivering measurable results.
He emphasized the need for stricter budget discipline, procurement reforms, and rigorous value-for-money audits to ensure public resources are used efficiently.
On revenue generation, Musasizi said the government will aggressively implement the second Domestic Revenue Mobilisation Strategy with the aim of increasing Uganda’s revenue-to-GDP ratio to at least 20 percent, reducing dependence on external financing.
The minister further committed to advancing President Museveni’s wealth creation agenda by prioritising funding for the commercialization of smallholder farmers and supporting efforts to integrate more Ugandans into the money economy.
“We shall prioritise funding and tracking the commercialization of smallholders to ensure every Ugandan enters the money economy,” he said.
Looking ahead to Uganda’s anticipated oil production, Musasizi pledged to champion what he termed “smart oil governance,” stressing that future petroleum revenues must be managed transparently and invested in long-term national development.
He said the government will establish strong institutional safeguards to ensure oil wealth supports infrastructure development and economic transformation without creating overreliance on the sector.
“Our goal is for Uganda to become an oil producer but never an oil-dependent economy,” Musasizi said.
