UGANDA, Kampala | Real Muloodi News | Following the recent 42-day lockdown induced by the second wave of COVID-19, President Yoweri Museveni announced the implementation of an economic stimulus package to assist small businesses to recover from the effects of the pandemic.
The President directed the Bank of Uganda and the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development to raise USh 200 billion for the stimulus package, with government funding USh 100 billion, and the remaining USh 100 billion being sought from willing private financial institutions.
One month since the president issued the directive, the Minister of State for Trade, David Bahati, said the funds were available, and they were working out modalities of disbursing it to the intended beneficiaries.
However despite this, several city traders are unaware of this opportunity, even though it was announced by the president during his address as he lifted the 42-day lockdown.
When interviewed, traders appeared to be ignorant of the package, with many unbothered about it, voicing doubt that it would serve its intended purpose.
According to Juliet Mukasa, a trader at Superior Arcade, the stimulus package is not a bad idea, but because of bureaucracy involved in government projects, getting the funds could be challenging.
She added that unlike banks, where she can easily get a loan, accessing this package may take an eternity, like the Emyooga Fund.
Other traders interviewed stated that they knew nothing and that none of their leaders had discussed the proposed stimulus package.
However, Thaddeus Musoke, chairperson of the Kampala City Traders Association (KACITA), stated that they had written to the government requesting a meeting with traders to explain the stimulus package.
In the wake of COVID-19, Uganda’s GDP growth fell to 3.31 per cent in the fiscal year 2020, down from 6.5 per cent in the fiscal year 2019, potentially pushing over 780,000 Ugandans into poverty.
What’s a Stimulus Package?
A stimulus package is an economic measure implemented by a government to assist struggling sectors to strengthen their economy. Small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), for example, were particularly impacted by the recent pandemic outbreak.
The stimulus package aims to restore household incomes and recover business activity by providing access to credit to support Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises, tax breaks, and interest rate reductions.
Watch the presidential Address, courtesy of Uganda Broadcasting Cooperation (UBC):
PRESIDENTIAL ADDRESS ON COVID-19 AND THE STIMULUS PACKAGE
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