Minister Anite rallies West Nile stakeholders on ATMS budget strategy
Anite addressed local government leaders and civil society representatives from seven selected West Nile districts during the first phase of a two-day Regional Budget Consultative meeting for Financial Year 2026/2027, held at Hotel Le Confidential in Arua on September 16.
Anite encouraged local governments to leverage their strategic location bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan by identifying economic drivers. (Credit: Robert Adiga)
By Robert Adiga
Journalists @New Vision
Investment and privatisation state minister Evelyn Anite has urged West Nile stakeholders to embrace the ATMS strategy during the budgeting process.
Anite addressed local government leaders and civil society representatives from seven selected West Nile districts during the first phase of a two-day Regional Budget Consultative meeting for Financial Year 2026/2027, held at Hotel Le Confidential in Arua on September 16.
ATMS refers to Agro-industrialisation, Tourism, Mineral-based industrial development, and Science, Technology and Innovation, aimed at achieving a tenfold economy of $500 billion by 2040.
The theme for the 2026/2027 budget is “monetisation of Uganda’s economy through commercial agriculture, industrialisation, expanding and broadening services, digital transformation and market access”.
The total resource envelope for FY 2026/27 is sh69.399 trillion, down from sh72.37 trillion in FY 2025/26.
Anite encouraged local governments to leverage their strategic location bordering the Democratic Republic of Congo and South Sudan by identifying economic drivers.
“Stakeholders in the various districts of West Nile need to embrace areas of tourism and mineral development since West Nile is closer to the biggest market in Africa, DR Congo, with over 90 million people, and all we need to do is to use our strategic location to identify economic drivers and market them and the region shall never be the same,” Anite said.
Isaac Shaka, communication officer in the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, said regional consultations with local governments and civil society are crucial to address gaps in service delivery.
Koboko district chairperson, Ashraf Mambo, commended the ministry for addressing previous service delivery gaps and appealed for enhanced remuneration for local governments to ensure smooth operations.
Zombo district chairperson, James Oruna Oyullu, expressed optimism that recommendations from local governments would be implemented, emphasising the importance of knowledge sharing and benchmarking during the consultations.
Twaib Feni, CEO of West Nile Regional Civil Society Network, highlighted the need for further improvements in human resources and infrastructure in the health and education sectors.
The first phase of the consultative meeting involved the local governments of Koboko, Adjumani, Yumbe, Maracha, Zombo, Obongi, and Koboko Municipalities.