The retreat, held at Speke Resort Munyonyo under the theme “From Achievement to Transformation: Aligning the Energy and Minerals Sector to the Knowledge Economy, the Qualitative Leap and a $500 Billion GDP by 2040,” has brought together senior ministry officials, heads of agencies, government corporations and technical experts.
The participants are developing a unified strategy focused on accelerating industrialisation, expanding energy access, promoting mineral value addition and creating jobs.
Opening the retreat in Kampala, Minister of Energy and Mineral Development Dr Monica Musenero challenged ministry leaders to move beyond routine service delivery and transform MEMD into a strategic institution capable of driving national economic transformation.
“Today, together with all senior and top leadership of the Ministry of Energy and Minerals fraternity, including all affiliated ministries, departments, agencies and corporations, we have started a five-day retreat to deliberate on how to transform the sector to support the nation’s industrialisation, job creation and socio-economic transformation agenda, including its contribution to the US$500 billion economy,” Musenero said.
She introduced the One MEMD Doctrine, an institutional framework designed to align all agencies under the ministry around a common strategic direction focused on wealth creation through energy, mining and industrial development.
Musenero said Uganda’s natural resources should no longer be viewed only as commodities for extraction but as a foundation for industrial growth, innovation and increased national income.
“Our responsibility is no longer just to manage resources. We must create value from them. We must ask ourselves three critical questions: Where is the money? Where are the industries? Where is the energy?” she said.
The minister said Uganda must shift from exporting raw materials to processing resources locally, expanding manufacturing and ensuring affordable and reliable energy supports industrial production.
Uganda’s economy is currently estimated at more than US$60 billion, with government targeting growth to US$500 billion by 2040 through investments in industrialisation, value addition, science, technology and innovation.
The energy and extractives sector is expected to play a central role in achieving this target through commercial oil production, mineral development, electricity generation and expansion of energy infrastructure.
Uganda currently has installed electricity generation capacity of more than 2,000 megawatts, while ongoing investments in transmission networks, renewable energy and oil infrastructure are expected to improve reliability and support industrial growth.
During the retreat, officials are conducting institutional assessments, analysing sector value chains and identifying reforms needed to improve coordination among ministry departments and affiliated agencies.
The discussions are also focused on replacing fragmented approaches with integrated planning under the One MEMD Doctrine, enabling leaders to make decisions based on strategic intelligence rather than routine activity reports.
Musenero said science, technology, innovation and effective leadership will be critical in transforming the energy and minerals sector into a catalyst for industrial growth, employment creation and sustainable economic development.
At the end of the five-day engagement, ministry officials are expected to adopt a transformation roadmap to guide policy implementation, strengthen collaboration and accelerate Uganda’s journey towards becoming a modern industrialised economy by 2040.