Pursuant to Article 98 and Article 99 of the 1995 Constitution of the Republic of Uganda, His Excellency, the President of the Republic of Uganda, on 23 rd. June, 2016 issued 23 Strategic Guidelines and Directives (Annex II) to the Cabinet as Priority Focus Areas and the Minimum Action Program for Uganda to attain the Middle-Income Status by 2020. They were also intended to guide and drive the Implementation of the NDPII (2016 – 2020) and NRM Manifesto (2016- 2021).
However, the Overall Implementation Performance of the Directives did not deliver the 2020 Middle Income Status target. As a result, the same Directives were re-issued to the new Cabinet on 12th July, 2021 for Implementation and H.E the President further guided that this time round, Implementation be preceded by a Performance Audit to inform appropriate rectification of any identified Implementation Gaps.
Accordingly, the Presidency through the APEX Platform Secretariat in liaison with the APEX Platform Steering and Technical Leadership Committees1; conducted the Performance Audit and accordingly coordinated the Assessment Process on the Implementation Status of the 23 Strategic Guidelines and Directives to inform Executive Decision Making at the Inaugural Public Policy Executive Oversight Forum (APEX Platform).
METHODOLOGY
Analysis of the Status of Implementation of the 23 Strategic Guidelines and Directives was based on the Four Interrelated Quadrants of the Programme/Project Life Cycle. The approach enables systematic and full understanding of the underlying Causes of the Problem that triggered issuance of each Directive; examining the Responsiveness of Planning and Design processes in addressing the Identified Problem; assessment of the Strategic Coordination of the Implementation of the Plan/Design as well as Overall appreciation of the intended Outcome/Impact (Results) from Implementation of the Planned/ Designed interventions.
The APEX Platform Secretariat obtained Information through extensive Desk Reviews of relevant National Reports and Project documents; Key Informant Interviews, National and Regional Consultative Dialogue Meetings, Field Oversight Monitoring Camps by the Political Leadership and Technical Teams as well as Independent Study Reports by key actors including OPM, MoFPED, NPA, MoPS, UBOS, OWC, ISO and EPRC among others. The Findings were synthesised and validated by the APEX Platform Technical Leadership and Steering Committees as well as during the Pre – APEX Meetings.
Scoring and Rating of Performance
The Performance Scoring and Rating of the 23 Presidential Strategic Guidelines and Directives was based on collectively agreed Performance Assessment Criteria as the standard. The Scoring was based on the relative level of achievement of the targeted Results
