The Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury (PSST) Ramathan Ggoobi has urged Ambassadors to creatively carry out their duties in line with the 10-fold growth strategy by promoting and marketing Uganda to potential tourists, Uganda’s exports, and attracting more investors.
Ggoobi made these remarks on Thursday, August 28, 2024, during the Ambassadors’ annual retreat at the Civil Service College in Jinja, under the theme, “Strengthening Governance and Performance of the Foreign Service for National Development.”
Ggoobi stressed the need to lure tourists and investors in order to achieve the country’s 10-fold growth objective, saying, “Tourism is a low-hanging fruit that should be prioritized by ambassadors abroad.”
He added that Uganda’s GDP growth has recovered from the various shocks, crises, and false alarms, reaching 6% in FY 2023/24 from 3% in FY 2019/20.
“This recovery is on account of good macroeconomic management, relatively good weather, and improving global economic conditions,” Ggoobi said.
According to Ggoobi, the growth has been broad-based, with growth in all sectors in FY 2023–2024 accounting for 6.6% in services, 5.8% in industry, and 5.1% in agriculture.
However, he said the growth is predicted to be 6.4% this fiscal year and at least 7% over the medium term if current trends continue. He also stated that GDP growth under the 10-fold growth strategy, which includes oil and gas output, is anticipated to exceed 10% in the early years.
He explained that Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has grown exponentially since 2016, due to the country’s enormous natural resources, better infrastructure, business protection, and stable political environment.
“FDI is projected to grow even faster as the start of oil production draws closer in FY 2025/26,” Ggoobi added.
On June 7, 2024, the PSST highlighted the strategy to grow the economy 10-fold from USD 55 billion in FY 2023/24 to USD 550 billion in the next 15 years through four anchor sectors of Agro-industrialisation, Tourism Development, Mineral Development, Oil and Gas, and Science, Technology, and Innovation (ATMS).
