15TH NATIONAL COMPETITIVENESS FORUM
Finance Minister Matia Kasaija while officiating at the 15th National Competitiveness Forum at Mestil Hotel said Government remains committed to creating an enabling environment for the private sector to thrive, especially in industries that align with the 10-fold strategy, such as the pathogen economy and mobility, which hold significant potential for import substitution, export growth, and job creation.
"I would like to emphasize that Uganda stands at the threshold of a new era. This transformative goal, guided by the Vision 2040 blueprint, calls for a shift toward a knowledge economy-where innovation, science, and technology are not just enablers but drivers of economic growth," said the Finance Minister.
He said the budget for FY 2024/25 highlights several investments in relation to Science Technology and Innovation (STI). Kasaija said Government has already committed Shs 257 billion to bolster STI, with substantial allocations toward key projects like the Banana Industrial Research and Development Centre (PIBID) which has been allocated UGX 49.6 billion for scaling operations and Kiira Motors Corporation which has received UGX 32.5 billion to advance electric vehicle manufacturing.
The Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury (PSST), Ramathan Ggoobi in his welcome remarks at the Forum said the national competitiveness forum (NCF) is the main platform through which the Finance Ministry consults with the private sector on investment priorities for building a competitive economy.
"Government has embarked on the journey of building a USD 500 billion economy within 15 years under its tenfold growth strategy. In this journey, technology-led productivity is a necessary condition to reach the double-digit economic growth potential envisaged under NDP4," said the PSST.
He said the global STI market presents opportunities worth USD 51.4 trillion, with the pathogen economy alone valued at USD12 trillion, while mobility is at USD15 trillion.
"Today’s discussions are to help us identify opportunities along these value chains for the private sector to invest and transform this economy," he said.
Currently, 77% of Uganda’s import expenditure is spent on STI related products.
Ggoobi said by focusing on developing domestic capabilities in e-mobility and pharmaceuticals, Uganda can retain significant value to strengthen the economy.
He also noted that government is pursuing a three-dimension economic agenda: full monetization of the economy; full formalization of the economy; and full employment of the country’s factors of production (land, labor, capital, technology and entrepreneurship).
The PSST said this economic agenda is informed by government’s appreciation of the state of the different factor markets, and the need for structural change.
Earlier, the head of the Private Sector Development Unit at the Finance Ministry Dianah Nannono said government has undertaken numerous reforms and registered commendable strides in enhancing private sector competitiveness in the country.
She said the business register has expanded from 46,324 entries registered in FY 2021/22 to 55,711 entries in FY 2023/24 due to digitization of the business registration process under Uganda Registration Services Bureau.
Nannono also said the share of titled land in the country has increased from 22.14% in FY 2021/22 to 30% in FY 2023/24 due to digitization of the land registration services.
She also noted that time for transportation of goods from Mombasa to Kampala has reduced from 5.65 days in FY 2021/22 to 4.54 days in FY 2023/24 due to regional electronic cargo tracking systems.