President Yoweri Museveni has renewed the contract of Robert Mukiza as Director General of the Uganda Investment Authority (UIA) for a second five-year term, citing strong performance and renewed investor confidence under his leadership.
In a March 16 letter, the President credited Mukiza with stabilizing the authority and injecting new energy into its operations. He noted that these efforts have significantly improved investor confidence and strengthened Uganda’s position as a competitive destination for both foreign and domestic investment.
Mukiza’s reappointment comes after a series of notable achievements during his first term. Under his leadership, Uganda was named Africa’s best investment destination at the Annual Investment Meeting Global Investment Awards in Abu Dhabi for three consecutive years from 2022 to 2024.
Recent figures from the Bank of Uganda show that foreign direct investment inflows rose from $2.99 billion in the 2023/24 financial year to $3.5 billion, reflecting growing international confidence in the country’s economy. Meanwhile, the authority licensed 481 investment projects in the 2024/25 period, projects expected to generate more than 53,000 direct jobs.
President Museveni has now tasked the UIA with accelerating the development and operationalization of industrial and business parks across the country. He emphasized that these parks are central to driving value addition, boosting manufacturing, and creating jobs for Ugandans. He also highlighted the importance of strategic land acquisition to support industrial growth, a key pillar in achieving the government’s ambitious target of building a $500 billion economy within the next decade.
Mukiza’s tenure has also been marked by improvements in efficiency. Through the One-Stop Centre, the time required to issue investment licenses has been reduced from 48 hours to just 24 hours. Additionally, the authority has mobilized over 57,000 acres of land for industrial development, with 10 industrial parks already operational nationwide.
This renewed focus aligns with the government’s Tenfold Growth Strategy, aimed at transforming Uganda into a half-trillion-dollar economy by 2040. According to the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, the strategy is anchored on key sectors including agro-industrialization, tourism, mineral development, and science and technology innovation.
With Mukiza’s reappointment, the government is signaling continuity in its investment strategy, placing industrialization and investor confidence at the heart of Uganda’s economic transformation.
