By Jimmy Muhumuza
Parliament
The Deputy Governor Bank of Uganda, Michael Atingi-Ego has revealed that Uganda’s public debt has hit the Shs80Trn rate and cautioned MPs against approving loans that do not spur the growth of the economy.
The Deputy Governor made the revelation while appearing before Parliament’s Finance Committee where he had been summoned to explain the current high inflation in the country.
He revealed that the Central Bank has cautioned the Ministry of Finance to ensure that going forward, all commercial loans obtained by Government have a grace period of at least five years because there are several loans in the pipeline whose payment dates have matured, something that has imposed pressure on Uganda’s foreign reserves.
Adam Mugume, Executive Director of Research and Policy at the Bank of Uganda explained that the public debt contains external debt that stands at US$12.6Bn equivalent to Shs47Trn and domestic debt stands at now stands at Shs33Trn.
Enos Asiimwe (Kabula County) tasked the Central Bank team to explain if the Ministry of Finance Consults Bank of Uganda before any loan is sought in Parliament.
However, Muwanga Kivumbi Butambala County questioned whether the figures furnished by the Central Bank are not the actual state of public debt, arguing that the figures supplied don’t contain the domestic arrears government owes to its suppliers.
