Minister Ayebare Demands Results From Foreign Missions

 Uganda’s new Foreign Affairs Minister Adonia Ayebare has put the country’s diplomatic missions on notice, saying ambassadors and other officials, whether political or career appointees, will be expected to deliver measurable results as he takes charge of the ministry.

Speaking on Wednesday during his first address at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs headquarters in Kampala, Ayebare said his priority would be to improve communication, accountability and performance across Uganda’s diplomatic service.

“I think our legacy here would be to make sure that there are no powers in embassies. Political appointees, whether political appointees or career appointees, are accountable and they deliver for this country,” Ayebare said.

Ayebare, who has spent about three decades in Uganda’s diplomatic service and most recently served as Permanent Representative to the United Nations in New York, said the ministry had capable personnel but needed to create an environment in which officials could perform.

“This ministry is very easy to fix. Very easy to fix. It has the best people in government,” he said.

“I joined this ministry as a Third Secretary… and went through the ranks. I think what we need to do is really create a good atmosphere for people to do their work.”

Ayebare promised an open-door management approach, encouraging ministry officials to communicate directly with him and raise problems affecting their work.

The new minister particularly emphasised economic and commercial diplomacy, saying Uganda’s missions should be judged by tangible outcomes rather than the number of meetings and investment conferences they organise.

“You cannot organise meetings and investment promotion that don’t bring investors,” Ayebare said. “It simply has to be results-based.”

Drawing on his tenure in New York, Ayebare said limited staffing or resources should not prevent missions from pursuing investment opportunities.

He cited engagements that helped attract Boeing and satellite internet company Starlink to Uganda as examples of what diplomatic missions can achieve.

Ayebare nevertheless acknowledged calls for more resources for economic and commercial diplomacy, saying additional support would be useful but should be tied to results.

Ayebare identified foreign travel advisories affecting Uganda as one of the immediate issues requiring attention.

“Our country is now out of business. Our people are in trouble because it is going down because we have been affected,” he said while discussing the economic consequences of the advisories.

He described the matter as fundamentally diplomatic, placing responsibility on the Foreign Affairs Ministry to engage governments issuing the warnings.

The issue has become particularly important to Uganda’s tourism sector, with government officials concerned about advisories issued by the United States and some European countries over security and public health risks in Uganda and the wider region.

Ayebare also identified Uganda’s campaign for Dr. Olara Otunnu for United Nations Secretary-General as an immediate foreign policy priority.

“We have a candidate for UN Secretary-General,” Ayebare told journalists.

“He is already in New York canvassing support. In the coming weeks, we need to all support him.”

Ayebare said preparations for the upcoming United Nations General Assembly would also demand immediate attention from the ministry.“ So, a lot of work,” he said.

Ayebare also called for faster responses from headquarters to Uganda’s missions abroad and foreign diplomatic missions based in Kampala.

“We have to be service providers. We have to answer their questions,” he said.

“There is no reason why an ambassador from another country should take days making an appointment here. There is no reason why we shouldn’t be represented on a national day.”

Ayebare said diplomacy could be reduced to maintaining functional relationships and ensuring consistent engagement with Uganda’s partners.

He also praised outgoing Acting Foreign Affairs Minister Haruna Kyeyune Kasolo for overseeing the recent repatriation of Ugandans from South

 Africa 

, saying the operation demonstrated the ministry’s fundamental responsibility to protect Ugandan interests abroad.

“That shows what MOFA’s mandate is to really represent Ugandans, represent the interests of Ugandans abroad, and we really delivered,” Ayebare said.

He said successfully handling such cases helped build public confidence in the ministry.

Ayebare was sworn in by President Yoweri Museveni on Tuesday at State House Entebbe and concluded his first address with a call for unity within the diplomatic service.

“There is only one team – Team MOFA,” he said.