Kampala, Uganda: President Yoweri Kaguta Museveni has outlined ten key priorities for Uganda’s economic transformation in the 2025/26 financial year, anchored on strengthening political stability, enhancing governance, and boosting domestic production.
Addressing the nation during his State of the Nation address at Kololo Ceremonial Grounds on Thursday, Museveni highlighted significant socio-economic gains made since 1986, pointing to a sharp decline in the number of Ugandans dependent on subsistence farming—from over 90% to just 33%.
“There has been a significant reduction in the percentage of households in subsistence agriculture; they are now 33%. These few illustrations show that implementing the mass line programmes is the most effective way of triggering socio-economic transformation,” Museveni stated.
The President’s 10 strategic priorities include:
- Maintaining national peace and security.
- Accelerating industrialisation, especially factories using Uganda’s raw materials.
- Promoting exports and reducing reliance on imports through expanded local manufacturing.
- Strengthening the private sector to spur enterprise and innovation.
- Increasing regional market access, particularly within EAC and COMESA blocs.
- Upskilling the youth through Zonal Industrial Hubs offering free vocational training.
- Increasing domestic revenue collection without stifling business growth.
- Streamlining public expenditure to eliminate waste and duplication.
- Fighting corruption especially in revenue-generating agencies like URA.
- Transitioning remaining subsistence farmers into the cash economy.
On revenue mobilisation, Museveni noted the dramatic shift from Shs5 billion collected in 1986 to Shs31.9 trillion projected by June 2025. He revealed the government targets Shs37.2 trillion in domestic revenue in the 2025/26 financial year, 14.3% of GDP.
To achieve this, measures will include intensified anti-corruption crackdowns at URA, the rollout of the Electronic Fiscal Receipting and Invoicing Solution (EFRIS), drone surveillance to curb smuggling, deployment of intrusive cargo scanners, and recruitment of additional tax officers.
Museveni hailed stable inflation at 3.4%, attributing it to favourable exchange rates, a bumper harvest, and a global drop in fuel prices. Domestic sugar production also contributed to a 10.8% price drop in sugar compared to last year.
He also celebrated Uganda’s shifting export profile. While traditional exports like coffee, cotton, copper, tobacco, tea and tourism remain relevant, Uganda has diversified into high-value products such as ICT devices, vaccines, pharmaceuticals, and electronic components.
The President cited a Harvard Economic Growth Lab report, which shows Uganda added 20 new products to its export basket in the past decade and has the capacity to produce 50 more complex products.
The economy has grown nearly 15-fold since 1986. Uganda posted 6.7% GDP growth in the first quarter of FY2024/25, with a projected 7% boost next year driven by commercial oil and gas production. In purchasing power parity terms, GDP is projected to hit $171.6 billion by June 2025, with per capita income rising from $1,259 to $1,330.
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