UGANDA, Kampala | Real Muloodi News | The youths in Uganda have tasked the government to stop the “unnecessary and frequent” borrowing that has put the country in a huge debt. Under the Youth Line Forum, a Non-Government Organisation, the youth protested against the frequent borrowing by the government. They said they are particularly alarmed by the loans Uganda took since last year (2020), which the government tags on the Covid-19 pandemic and its impact on the country.
Uganda has borrowed funds from various financial organisations, both domestically and internationally, since the Covid-19 outbreak.
Mr Muyinda Reagan, a student at Kyambogo University and a youth activist, told the press at their offices in Ntinda that they recognize the government’s efforts towards providing public services to the people. However, he requests that the government pays special attention to the choking debt burden, which has now exceeded the dangerous 50% mark.
The government received approval for a $1 billion (Shs3.5 trillion) loan from the IMF to help reduce the effects of Covid-19 on the country’s economy on June 28, 2021.
Uganda received a $300 million loan from the World Bank in April last year. To help the private sector, the European Union also offered £125 million. In May the same year, the International Monetary Fund – IMF approved a loan of $491.5 million under the Rapid Credit Facility (RCF) to assist the country in overcoming its economic difficulties.
Uganda received a $31.6 million loan from the African Development Bank (AfDB) in July to help the government’s response to Covid-19. These loans have resulted in the national debt growing to 35% in the last year. Uganda’s overall debt currently stands at USh 65.82 trillion as of December 2020, up from USh 49 trillion in 2019.
The USh 16.82 trillion increase, according to the youth, is due to increased government borrowing. Ministry of Finance expects public debt to GDP to rise to 51.9% in the 2021/22 financial year. The youth question how long it will take for these loans to be satisfied. Now is the time to say enough is enough!
According to the youth, the government should study all-conditional grants and avoid those against the country’s values. They caution the government to borrow with one hand and the other hand, create a guard against the ill intentions of the borrowers.
According to the Youth, the government needs to realise that no government, particularly in the European world, cares more about Uganda’s progress than Ugandans themselves. The corruption that is eating up the government needs to stop and the culprits need to be persecuted.
They have asked that before requesting more funds, the government should first account for the prior money borrowed. The Auditor General (AG), Mr John Muwanga, had also warned that the country’s national debt had escalated and became unsustainable.
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