The Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury, Dr. Ramathan Ggoobi, has underscored the critical role of public procurement in Uganda’s economic transformation agenda, stating that the country’s ambition to grow its economy to USD 500 billion by 2040 will depend heavily on effective execution of public investments.
Ggoobi made the remarks while officiating at the PPDA Public Procurement Cadre Forum 2026 held at Speke Resort Munyonyo on Thursday, where he addressed procurement professionals and government stakeholders.
He said Uganda’s transformation targets under the National Development Plan IV and the Tenfold Growth Strategy require procurement systems that are efficient, transparent, and development-oriented.
“Public procurement must therefore stop being viewed merely as a compliance process. It must become a strategic tool for delivering faster growth, better services, stronger local industries and value for money for Ugandans,” Ggoobi said.
He emphasized that procurement remains central to public investment execution and directly determines whether government projects are delivered on time, within budget, and to required quality standards.
However, he expressed concern over persistent bottlenecks in procurement processes across government institutions, including long procurement timelines, delayed projects, weak contract management, cost overruns, fragmented systems, and corruption risks.
“These delays are costly to government, costly to taxpayers and costly to national development,” he said.
Ggoobi revealed that government is accelerating the rollout of e-Government procurement systems across Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) as part of broader reforms aimed at improving transparency, accountability, efficiency, and traceability in public spending.
He added that ongoing reforms are focused on reducing procurement lead times, cutting unnecessary bureaucracy, standardising processes, strengthening contract management, and promoting local content participation.
“We need a procurement system that is faster, cleaner, smarter and more professional. A system that delivers projects. A system that inspires public confidence. A system aligned to Uganda’s development agenda,” he said.
Public Procurement and Disposal of Public Assets Authority (PPDA) Executive Director Canon Benson Turamye said effective procurement has the potential to significantly drive Uganda’s national growth strategy and economic transformation.
Turamye noted that about 65% of Uganda’s annual national budget is spent through public procurement, while the sector contributes between 15% and 20% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
The forum brought together procurement practitioners and government officials to discuss reforms and strategies aimed at improving procurement performance and supporting Uganda’s long-term development goals.
