Kenneth Ayebare, Director of Transport and Logistics at Private Sector Foundation Uganda, speaks on how the National Logistics Platform transformed Uganda’s logistics sector.
“Transport and logistics are the backbone of the economy. Every sector relies on it. Without an efficient logistics system, trade slows, businesses struggle, and economies suffer,” states Kenneth Ayebare, Director, Transport and Logistics, Private Sector Foundation Uganda. For years, Uganda’s transport and logistics sector operated in silos and was characterised by slow decision-making. “Businesses often had to write to multiple ministries and navigate time-consuming administrative processes just to resolve a clearance issue,” recalls Kenneth Ayebare, Director of Transport and Logistics at the Private Sector Foundation Uganda (PSFU). “There was no central body to champion the sector’s needs.”
That changed in 2018, following the establishment of the National Logistics Platform (NLP) under PSFU with support from Finland and Netherlands through TradeMark Africa. The NLP brought the public and private sector to the same table to coordinate reforms, solve logistics bottlenecks, and influence high level decisions, faster. And it worked, as the NLP soon became a unified voice for logistics stakeholders. One of its early wins was securing a seat at the top management level in Uganda’s Ministry of Works and Transport giving logistics actors direct engagement and access to influence policy and Government decision making.
“By bringing all stakeholders to one table, decision-making in transport and logistics became much faster,” said Anna Nambooze, TMA Country Director for Uganda and South Sudan. “When the private sector and government sat together, urgent policies were addressed in a timelier manner. Some decisions were made on the spot.”
Ms. Nambooze cites that when COVID-19 broke out, with lock downs instituted globally and borders closed, the NLP was one of Uganda’s best crisis management support tools. Ayebare agrees noting that the platform facilitated meaningful dialogue on cross-border trade issues between ministries – from trade to health to Foreign Affairs – and the private sector to keep trucks moving and essential goods flowing into the land-linked country.
This experience helped shape long term reforms through the development of the National Logistics Masterplan, now a blueprint for streamlining freight, reducing delays, and strengthening competitiveness in Uganda. For instance in 2021/2022, the NLP engaged the Government of Tanzania to lower road usage fees for Uganda-bound cargo trucks plying the central corridor to about $140 from $500. Furthermore, NLP enabled swift resolution of trade disputes, such as a maize export impasse with South Sudan, by ensuring all the decision-makers were at the table.
But not every challenge was easily resolved. A plan to train 10,000 drivers for Uganda’s growing oil and gas sector stalled during the pandemic. “The NLP managed to train only 200, but due to administrative hurdles, many could not complete certification,” Ayebare noted. While the platform’s positive impact on Uganda’s logistics sector is still evident, the momentum has slowed following the absence of a central coordinating body and funding, raising the question of sustainability.
“Reviving the Platform would be a big win for the sector. Without a fully operational central coordination body, pushing policies forward takes a long time and Uganda’s freight and logistics reforms risk stalling once again. We need that structure to keep progress moving,” according to Ayebare. Uganda’s logistics challenges mirror the broader issues affecting this industry across East Africa, including high transport costs, inefficient freight systems, inadequate infrastructure, and persistent bottlenecks such as non-tariff barriers (NTBs). Border delays, port congestion, and limited coordination between public and private stakeholders remain widespread. The NLP showed what’s possible when coordination dismantles silos.
