KAMPALA — Uganda’s top finance official has told the country’s ambassadors and heads of mission that their performance will now be judged in dollars — investment secured, exports achieved, tourists brought in — rather than the traditional business of diplomacy.
Ramathan Ggoobi, permanent secretary and secretary to the treasury at the finance ministry, set the tone at a retreat on Uganda’s Economic and Commercial Diplomacy Strategy, held at the Mestil Hotel in Kampala. “Economic diplomacy is no longer a polite supplement to political duties,” he told delegates. “It is the frontline of Uganda’s economic transformation.”
Ggoobi said diplomats needed to get to grips with trade analytics, tracking down investors and following up quickly once deals were in motion. He warned that funding for missions abroad would now depend on performance, a line he has pushed consistently in recent months. At an earlier review meeting in Mombasa, he said underperforming missions would be asked to submit recovery plans to keep their budgets. On a visit to Uganda’s High Commission in London, he told staff to move past routine administrative work and start showing measurable outcomes in trade and investment.
He has also warned diplomats against sending mixed messages to investors, telling missions to “speak with one voice” on the economy, and has said corruption in dealings with investors would be dealt with firmly, arguing that credibility underpins both investment and growth.
The push is tied to a government target of building a $500bn economy, with Ggoobi pointing to recent gains in foreign direct investment, coffee exports, tourism revenue and diaspora remittances as evidence the approach is paying off.
Uganda’s acting Minister of Foreign Affairs, Haruna Kyeyune Kasolo, closed the retreat by reaffirming the government’s commitment to job creation under the NRM Manifesto and Vision 2040. Kasolo was appointed to the role by President Yoweri Museveni in June, after the president’s original choice for the job, Adonia Ayebare, was held up in a dispute over dual citizenship.
Kasolo said missions abroad should act as commercial representatives, opening up markets for exports such as coffee, milk and matooke, and pursuing investment deals. He linked the strategy to the government’s Parish Development Model, a rural income scheme, saying missions needed to find international buyers for goods produced under that programme. He called for tighter reporting and better coordination between government departments.
Vincent Bagiire Waiswa, permanent secretary at the foreign affairs ministry, said his ministry would continue working with the finance ministry and with missions abroad to deliver the strategy.
Maj Gen David Kasura Kyomukama, from the agriculture ministry, said Uganda’s dairy industry was now producing more than 5.3 billion litres of milk a year and had scope for further export growth.
Tonny Ssebuliri, from the energy ministry, updated delegates on the East African Crude Oil Pipeline and other oil, gas and mining projects.
Georgina Mugerwa, also from the energy ministry, called for closer coordination between the trade and foreign affairs ministries on export strategy.
Patrick Ayota, managing director of the National Social Security Fund, said Uganda needed a stronger national marketing effort, including greater use of social media and influencers, to promote trade and tourism.
Tito Okello, an economist at the finance ministry, presented a review of the strategy’s progress. He said missions were increasingly treating economic diplomacy as a core responsibility, but said workplans needed sharper focus.
The retreat was organised by the foreign affairs ministry’s Department of Regional Economic Cooperation, led by Ambassador Richard Kabonero.
