The National Development Plan (2025/26 – 2029/30) is the fourth in a series of six National Development Plans (NDPs) aimed at accelerating the socio-economic transformation of Uganda. Despite laying the minimum foundations for development in terms of infrastructure, security, human capital, and other sectors, the country’s progress has been slow.
The consultation meeting with local government heads and stakeholders for both Gulu District and Gulu City raised several key issues that require immediate action in the region. These issues were discussed at this year’s consultation meeting of NDP IV in Gulu City.
Mr. John Charles Luwa, the Acting Physical Planner for Gulu City, stated that it is the right time for the Acholi Subregion to utilize this opportunity to highlight the most urgent issues that require immediate attention. These include the high demand for the rehabilitation of Gulu Airfield into an international airport as AFCON approaches, the rehabilitation of Pece War Memorial Stadium, upgrades to roads that provide access to local tourist sites and cultural institutions within Gulu, and the operationalization of the logistics hub in Gulu City, among other key issues. These concerns were raised to be channeled to the government for immediate intervention.
The average growth rate for the last decade has been 4.8 percent, compared to Uganda’s Vision 2040 target of 8.5 percent. At this rate, the Vision’s goals of reaching upper-middle-income status with a GDP of USD 581 billion and per capita income of USD 9,500 will not be realized.
During the consultation workshop on the Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV) in Gulu City on November 26, 2024, Mr. Chris Nokrach Otim, the Manager of Local Government Planning, emphasized the need for a 10-fold increase in the size of the economy to put it back on the critical path to attaining the Uganda Vision 2040 targets in the remaining 15 years of the Vision.
“The Fourth National Development Plan (NDP IV) is therefore the first of the three 5-year NDPs that will deliver the 10-fold growth strategy. This is expected to be achieved by doubling the size of the economy every five years. Therefore, the Plan lays out the approaches, strategies, and implementation reforms necessary to achieve double-digit growth,” Mr. Otim explained.
This growth will be achieved through accelerated, sustainable value addition and industrialization in key growth areas, including agriculture, tourism, minerals, oil and gas, science, technology and innovation (STI), information and communication technology (ICT), and key services such as finance, education, health, transport, and energy, as well as the knowledge economy.
The focus on sustainable industrialization is based on the desire to exploit the primary growth anchors of Uganda’s economy to catapult the 10-fold growth. Sustainable industrialization and value addition will boost productivity and accelerate inclusive economic growth, employment, and wealth creation.
Industrialization and value addition serve as foundations for the development of other sectors such as urbanization, infrastructure, and social services in education and health, as well as agriculture, science, and technology.
Additionally, value addition and industrialization are expected to generate multiplier effects, creating beneficial linkages and opportunities across various sectors.
The industrial sector relies on input bases and markets such as agriculture and minerals to flourish. The sector also depends on educated, skilled, and healthy individuals who provide labor and constitute markets for finished products.
To ensure substantial impact, the Plan outlines strategies to close implementation gaps and address distortions that impede the effective utilization of factors of production.
