As Uganda settles into a new political term and a new Cabinet takes office, attention will naturally turn to what comes next. Citizens want jobs, higher incomes and better opportunities.
Ministers will be judged by their ability to deliver results. But perhaps an uncomfortable question deserves more attention: What if Uganda has already spent the last two decades doing the hard part? For years, the country’s development agenda focused on building foundations.
Roads were expanded, industrial parks established, digital connectivity improved and electricity generation increased significantly.
According to the Electricity Regulatory Authority’s Uganda Electricity Sector Overview 2025, Uganda’s installed generation capacity has grown substantially over the past two decades, transforming the country’s energy landscape.
This achievement should not be underestimated. Building infrastructure is expensive, complex and time-consuming. It requires political commitment, financing, technical expertise and years of implementation. Yet, history shows that building infrastructure is only one phase of development.
The bigger challenge is ensuring that infrastructure creates value. Electricity generation is an achievement. Economic transformation is the test.
A power plant can generate electricity, but it cannot create prosperity on its own. Its true value is realised when it powers factories, supports agro-processing, enables innovation and helps businesses become more productive. The same principle applies across the economy. Roads create connections, but businesses create wealth. Industrial parks provide space, but investors create jobs.
Infrastructure creates possibilities; people create prosperity. This distinction matters because many Ugandans are no longer asking whether infrastructure exists. They are asking whether they can feel its impact. Can farmers earn more through value addition?
Can manufacturers become more competitive? Can young people find meaningful employment? Can Uganda export more finished products instead of raw materials? These are the questions that will increasingly define the country’s next phase of development. The World Bank has long argued that reliable energy is essential for economic growth and poverty reduction.
However, energy is most valuable when it supports productive economic activity. As the new Cabinet begins its work, its success may not be measured by the number of projects it launches. It may be measured by how effectively it helps Ugandans extract value from the investments already made.
If the last two decades were about building the foundation, the next chapter must be about building prosperity upon it. That may prove to be the harder task.