IMF Warns Uganda’s Interest Payments Could Hurt Project Spending
By Keefa Nuwahereza
Uganda will spend as much as a fifth of government revenue on interest payments in this financial year and the International Monetary Fund warned this could reduce expenditure on human capital and infrastructure projects.
That’s equivalent to what countries that are close to or in debt distress spend on servicing credit, according to the IMF’s country Resident Representative Clara Mira.
While the country remains at a low risk of debt distress, “There are vulnerabilities and interest payments are high,” Mira said Tuesday in emailed responses to questions, adding that “There are less resources available to finance the remaining needs.”
President Yoweri Museveni’s administration is struggling to fund its 2019-20 budget of 40.5 trillion shillings ($11 billion) ...