Business
Take charge of Ten-fold Growth Strategy, planners told
The Union’s chairperson, Gideon Mugulusi, said planners must move beyond preparing plans and reports for compliance and instead play a strategic role in translating Uganda’s Vision 2040 and other national development priorities into tangible improvements in communities.
Gideon Mugulusi (left), the Chairperson, Uganda National Planners Union, chats with Joseph Balikuddembe (centre), the Senior Human Resource Officer, Ministry of Public Service and Hassan Lwabayi Mudiba, the General Secretary, Uganda Local Government Workers Union, at the annual general meeting of the Planners Union at Africana on 18th Aug 2026. (Photo by Nicholas Oneal)
By: Nelson Kiva, Journalist @New Vision
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Local government planners have been urged to take charge of Uganda’s Ten-fold Growth Strategy by aligning development plans, budgets and public investments with national priorities and measurable results.
The call was made during the Uganda National Planners’ Union’s second annual general meeting held at Hotel Africana in Kampala on Tuesday, August 18, 2026.
The Union’s chairperson, Gideon Mugulusi, said planners must move beyond preparing plans and reports for compliance and instead play a strategic role in translating Uganda’s Vision 2040 and other national development priorities into tangible improvements in communities.
“A planner is not a mere person who prepares a development plan, work plan and budget. A modern development planner is a strategist, economist, project coordinator, resource allocator and adviser,” Mugulusi said.
Gideon Mugulusi (centre), the Chairperson of the Uganda National Planners Union, with some of the guests at the annual general meeting of the Planners Union at Africana on 18th August 2026. (Photo by Nicholas Oneal)
The AGM brought together planners and officials from the ministries of Finance, Public Service, Local Government, the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (UBOS), the National Planning Authority (NPA), the National Organisation of Trade Unions (NOTU), the Uganda National Teachers’ Union (UNATU), workers’ representatives and other stakeholders.
Mugulusi said the quality of Uganda’s development outcomes would largely depend on the quality of planning, budgeting, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
He challenged planners, particularly those at local government level, to ensure that national programmes and priorities are translated into practical interventions that respond to the needs and economic potential of their communities.
He said planners should be able to demonstrate how their work contributes to better roads, health facilities, markets, household incomes and access to public services.
Mugulusi said the Ten-Fold Growth Strategy, which seeks to expand Uganda’s economy through areas including agro-industrialisation, tourism, minerals, oil and gas, science, technology, innovation and ICT, presents a major opportunity for planners to influence the country’s development trajectory.
He said achieving the aspirations of Vision 2040 would require planners to ensure that these priorities are reflected in local government development plans and budgets.
“Take charge and guide the realisation of the Vision 2040 programme,” Mugulusi told the planners.
According to Mugulusi, the quality of Uganda’s development outcomes will depend significantly on the quality of planning, budgeting, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
He said planners at local government level are strategically positioned to bridge the gap between national aspirations and the realities faced by citizens.
“Local government planners are at the front line of national transformation,” he said, adding that district and municipal development plans should translate national priorities into interventions responding to the actual needs and economic potential of communities.
He said planners should be able to demonstrate how their work contributes to better roads, health facilities, markets, household incomes and access to public services.
Mugulusi said the Ten-Fold Growth Strategy, which seeks to expand Uganda’s economy through areas including agro-industrialisation, tourism, minerals, oil and gas, science, technology, innovation and ICT, presents a major opportunity for planners to influence the country’s development trajectory.
He said achieving the aspirations of Vision 2040 would require planners to ensure that these priorities are reflected in local government development plans and budgets.
“Take charge and guide the realisation of the Vision 2040 programme,” Mugulusi told the planners.
According to Mugulusi, the quality of Uganda’s development outcomes will depend significantly on the quality of planning, budgeting, implementation, monitoring and evaluation.
He said planners at local government level are strategically positioned to bridge the gap between national aspirations and the realities faced by citizens.
“Local government planners are at the front line of national transformation,” he said, adding that district and municipal development plans should translate national priorities into interventions responding to the actual needs and economic potential of communities.
Mugulusi challenged planners to assess whether their work is producing measurable improvements in communities, including better roads, health facilities, markets, incomes and access to services.
The secretary general of the Uganda National Planners’ Union, Patrick Kiggundu, said the AGM was being held in fulfilment of the Union’s constitutional and legal obligations.
He explained that the Union was established following a resolution reached in June 2022 and was subsequently registered and certified as a public service labour union.
Kiggundu said the AGM provided an opportunity for members to review the performance of the Union, receive reports from its leadership, discuss challenges affecting planners and update members on relevant legal and policy frameworks.
He said members would also discuss the planning grant and welfare of planners, as well as efforts to establish a savings and credit cooperative society (SACCO) for members.
The Union is seeking to strengthen the welfare of planners, whom Kiggundu said are responsible for advising on the allocation of public resources but can themselves face significant welfare and professional challenges.
He said the Union had received a sh300m government grant, which will support its activities, including efforts to establish the planners’ SACCO and improve members’ welfare.
Kiggundu said the Union also used the AGM to strengthen its structures at lower levels and elect office bearers to fill vacant coordination positions.
He urged planners to recognise their strategic importance to national development, noting that their decisions influence the way public resources are prioritised and invested.
The secretary general of the Uganda National Planners’ Union, Patrick Kiggundu, said the AGM was being held in fulfilment of the Union’s constitutional and legal obligations.
He explained that the Union was established following a resolution reached in June 2022 and was subsequently registered and certified as a public service labour union.
Kiggundu said the AGM provided an opportunity for members to review the performance of the Union, receive reports from its leadership, discuss challenges affecting planners and update members on relevant legal and policy frameworks.
He said members would also discuss the planning grant and welfare of planners, as well as efforts to establish a savings and credit cooperative society (SACCO) for members.
The Union is seeking to strengthen the welfare of planners, whom Kiggundu said are responsible for advising on the allocation of public resources but can themselves face significant welfare and professional challenges.
He said the Union had received a sh300m government grant, which will support its activities, including efforts to establish the planners’ SACCO and improve members’ welfare.
Kiggundu said the Union also used the AGM to strengthen its structures at lower levels and elect office bearers to fill vacant coordination positions.
He urged planners to recognise their strategic importance to national development, noting that their decisions influence the way public resources are prioritised and invested.