Makerere Trains Government Officials to Improve Public Investment Projects

Makerere University has completed a three-day training programme aimed at strengthening the ability of government officials to prepare, assess and manage public investment projects.

The training, organised through the university’s Public Investment Management (PIM) Centre of Excellence with support from the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, attracted officials from ministries, departments, agencies and local governments.

Opening the programme, the Commissioner for Public Investment and Assets Management at the Ministry of Finance, Ms Gertrude Basiima, said the PIM Centre of Excellence emerged from reforms that led to the creation of the Public Investment Management Department in 2016.

She said the centre was established to connect academic knowledge with practical experience in public investment management. She noted that many of the trainers are practitioners who work directly within the public investment system.

Basiima urged participants to use the skills acquired to improve the quality of projects submitted by their institutions. She said members of Project Preparation Committees play a key role in ensuring only properly prepared projects move forward for approval and funding.

She described public investment as a cornerstone of Uganda’s development agenda, saying infrastructure projects such as roads, hospitals, irrigation systems, water facilities and energy networks are essential for economic transformation.

Basiima also highlighted recent reforms in the public investment framework. She said government has streamlined project preparation processes and introduced updated guidelines and policies to strengthen project appraisal and implementation. She added that the Integrated Bank of Projects remains the central platform for project registration, management and monitoring.

She encouraged participants to engage actively in discussions and practical exercises, stressing that the programme was designed to provide hands-on experience rather than traditional classroom learning.

Representing the Director of the PIM Centre of Excellence, Prof Ibrahim Mike Okumu, Dean of the School of Economics, said the public sector remains central to Uganda’s development efforts. He noted that quality public investments support economic growth, productivity and job creation.

Prof Okumu warned that weak project preparation often prevents promising ideas from securing government funding. He urged participants to view the training as the beginning of a longer professional journey in public investment management.

The manager of the PIM Centre of Excellence, Dr John Sseruyange, said participants learned how to identify development challenges that require new projects and those that can be addressed through existing interventions. He said the programme forms part of a broader learning pathway covering project preparation, financial appraisal, risk analysis and economic evaluation.

He added that all public projects must undergo thorough assessment before qualifying for government funding. Participants also took part in practical group sessions where they developed project concepts based on real-world scenarios.

Officials at the training agreed that improving development outcomes will depend on stronger skills, better systems and closer coordination among institutions. The PIM Centre of Excellence pledged to continue supporting capacity building, research and policy advice to strengthen public investment management across Uganda.