The Government of Uganda has reaffirmed its commitment to becoming increasingly self-reliant by raising the country’s revenue-to-GDP ratio from 14 percent to 20 percent by 2030, in line with the Second Domestic Revenue Mobilization Strategy (DRMS).
The commitment was reiterated by the Minister of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Henry Musasizi, during a meeting held on Thursday with the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) Resident Representative, Nwanne Vwede-Obahor, at the Ministry of Finance headquarters in Kampala. The meeting was also attended by the Minister of State for Privatization and Investment, Aminah Zawedde Mukalazi.
The discussions focused on strengthening the longstanding partnership between the Government of Uganda and UNDP, with particular emphasis on development financing that enables the country to drive its own development agenda through increased domestic resource mobilization.
The UNDP delegation, which included Deputy Resident Representative Ian King, Senior Economic Advisor Thangavel Palanivel, and other officials, reaffirmed the organization’s commitment to supporting Uganda’s development priorities and enhancing the implementation and coordination of key development interventions.
Musasizi welcomed UNDP’s continued partnership and emphasized the importance of aligning the work of UNDP and other development partners with the Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV) and the government’s Tenfold Growth Strategy.
He said Uganda remains focused on transforming into a US$500 billion economy by 2040, stressing that sustainable economic growth will be driven by stronger domestic financing and increased investment rather than dependence on foreign aid.
“What Uganda needs is not aid, but strong trade and investment partnerships,” Musasizi said. “We urge UNDP to engage partners that can provide affordable development financing to invest in Uganda. Our country is politically stable, offers some of the best investment incentives in the region, and remains one of the world’s leading tourism destinations.”
The meeting underscored the government’s strategy of leveraging partnerships with development agencies to attract affordable financing while strengthening domestic revenue collection as a foundation for long-term economic transformation.
