Daily Monitor
Wednesday April 28 2021
The loans have been invested in transmission lines, the Karuma and Isimba hydropower projects, oil roads, Kabaale International Airport, expansion of Entebbe International Airport and Irrigation schemes, among others, which government says has translated into economic growth.
Summary
The loans have been invested in transmission lines, the Karuma and Isimba hydropower projects, oil roads, Kabaale International Airport, expansion of Entebbe International Airport and Irrigation schemes, among others, which government says has translated into economic growth.
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Twenty years after Uganda benefited from a $656 million (Shs2.3 trillion) debt relief in 2000, the government today finds itself in a deeper hole of debts, struggling to pay creditors in the midst of a pandemic, emerging spending pressures and contracted domestic revenues.
Daily Monitor
Monday April 26 2021
Summary
Government has accumulated a staggering Shs65trillion public debt, up from Shs49trillion in 2019, with officials justifying that they borrowed the money to finance key infrastructural projects 9in transport, oil and gas sectors.
The country’s debt is set to surpass the 50 per cent threshold in 2022.
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This means that of the estimated 43 million Ugandans, each one owes lenders Shs1.5 million.
The country’s public debt portfolio is projected to swell in the next financial year, with economists warning that it could surpass the 50 per cent threshold-hence becoming untenable.
Debt held by the public is often expressed as a percentage of Gross Domestic Product (GDP), which measures the capacity of the economy to support such borrowing. This is particularly useful in comparing debt levels over time and among countries of different sizes.