President Yoweri Museveni has presented a plan to reform Uganda’s administration, aimed at reducing costs and improving the efficiency of a system marked by striking budget disparities.
The Ugandan head of state, Yoweri Museveni, revealed late Friday afternoon, in a statement shared on his social networks, “alarming” figures on the operating costs of the public administration and announced a project radical overhaul to improve its efficiency. This reform, focused on reducing spending and rationalizing structures, aims to correct budgetary excesses and bureaucratic shortcomings.
The observation made by the Head of State is clear: the ministries, employing 18,532 civil servants – excluding military personnel – operate with a budget of 2.6 billion shillings (approximately 702 million dollars), while the agencies and authorities, with only 3,905 employees, absorb 2.2 trillion shillings (or approximately $595 million). “It’s a budgetary absurdity,” insisted Museveni, deploring this unbalanced management of resources.
To support this reform, the government sets the objective of increasing the tax collection rate from 13.9% to 20% of GDP by the end of the fiscal year. With an estimated GDP of $57.5 billion, this increase would represent 42.55 trillion shillings, or approximately $11.5 billion, an increase considered crucial to finance development projects. “We must exploit our fiscal potential efficiently and equitably,” Museveni insisted.
The president detailed several key measures to establish a more efficient administration: the consolidation of government structures in order to eliminate administrative duplication, the revision of operational procedures to accelerate decision-making, the salary increase to motivate civil servants while guaranteeing them permanent status and pension rights. An accountability system inspired by the Ugandan army (UPDF) will also be put in place to improve the monitoring and transparency of the actions of each civil servant.
In the agricultural sector, Museveni proposes a localized governance model, aiming to deploy “one veterinarian and one agricultural agent per sub-county”. This new approach aims to provide direct support to farmers and herders, with the help of local Miruka leaders, for better crop and livestock management. “This structure, less expensive and more comprehensive, will ensure rigorous monitoring and rapid response to agricultural challenges,” explained Museveni, who recalls the previous successes of his reforms in the energy sector where Uganda went from shortage to a surplus production.
With this series of reforms, President Museveni intends to put the Ugandan administration on a new trajectory, more efficient and closer to the realities on the ground.
AC/te/APA
