Donors write off $3.7bn of Uganda debt
Sep 28, 2005
Uganda will save about $80m (about sh148b) annually following the cancellation of the multilateral debt by the International Monetary Fund (IMF),
Uganda will save about $80m (about sh148b) annually following the cancellation of the multilateral debt by the International Monetary Fund (IMF), reports Patrick Jaramogi.
The deputy secretary to the treasury, Keith Muhakanizi, told the BBC focus on Africa yesterday, “Uganda’s debt stands at around sh4.4 b and at least 85 percent of the debt is from multi-sectoral bodies like the World Bank, IMF and the African Development Bank (ADB).
“This means that following the cancellation, around $3.7b will be cleared. This amounts to about 85% of the country’s debt.â€
Early this week, the IMF policy-making committee approved a plan that would finance the cancellation of $40b in multilateral debt owed by the world’s poorest countries, Uganda inclusive.
The plan, put forward by the Group of Eight industrialised nations - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the United States, said the initial beneficiaries would be 18 countries, most of them in Africa, that have completed economic reforms mandated by the IMF and the World Bank in exchange for relief.
Muhakanizi said, “We (Uganda) were saving between $50-80million annually for debt payments. This money will now be reverted to other uses such as education and health sectors.â€
Asked whether the money would not be misused by top government officials to construct more bungalows in Kampala’s sprawling hills, he said, “I don’t think the funds will be misused. It will instead be put to proper use.â€
He said Uganda was doing well long before the debt cancellation, especially in Universal Primary Education.
“The Government plans after UPE to start the same for post-primary and tertiary institutions,†he said.
The deputy secretary to the treasury, Keith Muhakanizi, told the BBC focus on Africa yesterday, “Uganda’s debt stands at around sh4.4 b and at least 85 percent of the debt is from multi-sectoral bodies like the World Bank, IMF and the African Development Bank (ADB).
“This means that following the cancellation, around $3.7b will be cleared. This amounts to about 85% of the country’s debt.â€
Early this week, the IMF policy-making committee approved a plan that would finance the cancellation of $40b in multilateral debt owed by the world’s poorest countries, Uganda inclusive.
The plan, put forward by the Group of Eight industrialised nations - Britain, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Russia, and the United States, said the initial beneficiaries would be 18 countries, most of them in Africa, that have completed economic reforms mandated by the IMF and the World Bank in exchange for relief.
Muhakanizi said, “We (Uganda) were saving between $50-80million annually for debt payments. This money will now be reverted to other uses such as education and health sectors.â€
Asked whether the money would not be misused by top government officials to construct more bungalows in Kampala’s sprawling hills, he said, “I don’t think the funds will be misused. It will instead be put to proper use.â€
He said Uganda was doing well long before the debt cancellation, especially in Universal Primary Education.
“The Government plans after UPE to start the same for post-primary and tertiary institutions,†he said.