The Deputy Governor of Bank of Uganda, Dr Michael Atingi-Ego has assured Ugandans that in this year 2022, the economy is going to recover soon since it’s now fully open.
While speaking during the Stanbic Economic Outlook Forum, last week at Serena Hotel in Kampala, the Deputy Governor said the country’s economy had been shuttered by the Covid-19 pandemic for the last two years but there are many possibilities for it to recover within a short period of time since people resumed their businesses and there are new ventures coming up.
“The Education sector where schools fall account for over 9 per cent of the Gross Domestic Product, this is quite an impressive contribution from one sector. The eco-system surrounding the education sector is very rich eg those supplying food, timber and on an account of Small Medium Enterprises which also contribute to the economy,” said Dr Atingi-Ego.
He added that also the recent final phases of signing the Oil deal where some of the country’s oil companies will start to enjoy the profits will also contribute a lot to the economy.
“Yes, there will be more importation but we should not forget that there is a certain portion that is going to be spent domestically, and this is what we think that is going to grow the demand and hence stimulate the economy.”
In the same way, the Ministry of Finance Permanent Secretary Ramathan Ggoobi said, “We are not into fiscal consolidation so we can stand a chance to manage the debt servicing, and I’m assuring Ugandans that debts will not go out of our hands. That is why in every Ministry, leaders are busy trying so much on how to repurpose their budgets. This means that instead of thinking of incremental budgeting, we are reprioritizing it. And if we are to implement the Parish Development model, money must come from the budget and we must do that.”
Currently, Uganda’s debt stands at 66.1 trillion shillings (18.9 billion U.S. dollars), up 15.1 per cent from June 2020, according to the Bank of Uganda, this is attributed to the 33.6 per cent increase in domestic debts.
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