The government is asking for another loan of $1 billion (Shs3.5 trillion) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to mitigate the impact of Covid-19 on the country’s economy, the Finance Ministry confirmed on Wednesday.
However, this comes a few months after the Auditor General (AG), Mr John Muwanga, warned that the country’s national debt had escalated and that it was becoming unsustainable.
The IMF yesterday said the Shs3.5t loan will help Uganda tackle the near-term impact of Covid-19 and its recovery by safeguarding macroeconomic stability and generating more inclusive growth.
“IMF staff have reached [the] agreement with the Ugandan authorities on a medium-term programme that could be supported by IMF resources of about $1 billion (Shs3.5t) under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF),” Mr Amine Mati, an IMF official, said in the statement.
