Africa-Press – Uganda. The Office of the President, through the APEX Platform, has released findings from a 15-year study (2010–2030) on the performance of Uganda’s service sector, highlighting its rapid growth alongside persistent challenges in job creation and fair wages.
The findings were presented during a pre-APEX meeting held at Sheraton Hotel in Kampala, officiated by the Minister for the Presidency, Milly Babalanda.
Speaking at the event, Babalanda emphasised the need for the service sector to create more employment opportunities, particularly for Uganda’s growing youth population.
“The service sector has grown tremendously, but this growth must translate into jobs and better livelihoods for our young people. We must ensure the sector responds to the wellbeing of the citizenry,” she said.
The meeting was held under the theme: “Beyond the Numbers: Making the Service Sector Responsive to the Wellbeing of the Citizenry.”
According to the report, while the service sector has become a major contributor to Uganda’s economy, it remains plagued by low pay and high levels of informality. Many workers, particularly in urban areas, earn below living wages, limiting the sector’s potential to reduce poverty.
The study recommends deliberate government action to:
Formalize the service sector to improve regulation and accountability.
Enhance job creation by linking the sector to youth employment strategies. Strengthen wage policies to address underpayment.
Improve service delivery at all levels, especially from sub county administrations.
Beatrice Akello, another key participant at the event, underscored the importance of strengthening public service delivery at grassroots levels, noting that inefficiencies in local government structures continue to hinder economic progress.
Officials noted that the research findings will directly inform government policy actions and enhance accountability mechanisms to ensure equitable growth.
The ultimate goal, they emphasised, is to build a service sector that not only drives economic growth but also creates decent jobs and leaves no Ugandan behind.
The pre-APEX meeting sets the stage for the forthcoming national APEX dialogue, where policymakers, technocrats, and development partners are expected to develop concrete strategies for transforming the sector.
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