The government has renewed its push to strengthen public finance management and improve budget efficiency as part of efforts to accelerate Uganda’s Tenfold Growth Strategy and drive economic transformation.
Speaking at the meeting between the Ministry of Finance and government planners at Speke Resort Munyonyo, the Minister of State for General Duties, Henry Musasizi, challenged planners at both central and local government levels to focus resources on areas critical to the success of the ruling government’s development agenda.
Musasizi urged planners to play a more active role in steering Uganda’s economic trajectory by ensuring that public resources are directed to priority sectors with the highest impact on growth and social transformation.
He emphasized the need for professionalism and accountability within the planning function, warning against inefficiencies and financial indiscipline that derail the implementation of government programs.
The minister also called on planners to support government efforts in combating corruption, unnecessary supplementary budget requests, mischarges, and other practices that compromise fiscal responsibility.
“I want to urge you to be useful planners, planners who are relevant,” Musasizi said. “There is an urgent need to professionalize the planning cadre so that it can perform effectively and efficiently in guiding the country’s development agenda.”
The meeting, organized by the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development, was convened to address issues affecting the planning and budgeting functions across government institutions. It follows an earlier engagement with all accounting officers focused on enhancing budget execution for the 2025/26 financial year.
The Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury (PSST), Ramathan Ggoobi, reaffirmed the government’s commitment to aligning institutional work plans with the national development strategy and ensuring that public expenditure drives results.
He stressed that all government policies and budgets must be guided by the Tenfold Growth Strategy, the National Development Plan, program implementation action plans, and MDA strategic frameworks.
Ggoobi underscored the importance of prioritizing resources for the key ATMS sectors Agro-industrialization, Tourism, Minerals, and Science & Technology which remain central to Uganda’s socio-economic transformation agenda.
He also highlighted the need to strengthen critical enablers such as infrastructure, ICT, and human capital development, noting that these areas will significantly boost private sector growth and improve the country’s competitiveness.

“As planners, you ought to guide the allocation of resources to essential areas and minimize the accumulation of domestic arrears, planners and accounting officers who fail to ensure proper budget execution will face sanctions,” Ggoobi said.
He cautioned against what he termed “budget games” during planning, budgeting, execution, and reporting processes.
The PSST identified common practices such as “padding play,” where ministries and agencies request more funds than required; “crisis card” strategies, where MDAs claim catastrophic consequences if their budgets are not approved; and “mandate masquerade,” where agencies exaggerate their mandates to justify higher allocations.
These practices, he warned, undermine fiscal discipline and limit the country’s ability to channel resources toward priority sectors that drive growth.
To enhance the effectiveness of government planning, the PSST revealed that plans are underway to professionalize the economist and planner cadres in collaboration with the Ministry of Public Service and the National Planning Authority.
He said a dedicated team has already been constituted to review the structure and performance of the planning function and to recommend measures that will strengthen its technical capacity.
Additionally, accounting officers have been directed to provide adequate facilitation for planners to ensure that the planning function is fully supported across all government votes.
Earlier, Gideon Mugulusi, the Chairperson of Government Planners, requested the introduction of a planning conditional grant to support critical activities such as data management, monitoring, and evaluation.
He also called on government to address salary disparities and improve technical capacity within the planning cadre to enhance service delivery.

In response, Ggoobi assured planners that their salaries would be reviewed and enhanced in a phased approach as part of broader reforms aimed at strengthening Uganda’s public finance management systems.
The renewed focus on efficient planning and resource allocation comes at a time when Uganda is pushing to achieve rapid and sustainable economic growth under the Tenfold Growth Strategy.
By tightening budget execution, reducing wastage, and directing funds to high-impact sectors, government hopes to attract more private sector investment, create jobs, and accelerate progress toward its economic transformation goals.
If successfully implemented, these reforms are expected to improve fiscal discipline, boost investor confidence, and position Uganda as a competitive player in regional and global markets.
Planners now face the challenge of ensuring that every shilling allocated delivers measurable results that move the country closer to achieving its ambitious growth targets.