By Leonard Kamugisha Akida,
NATIONAL
Uganda’s oldest political party, DP has called on Ugandans and Civil Society Organisations (CSOs) concerned about Ugandan debt burden to raise in large numbers and block the governments from borrowing.
Ismail Kiirya, the president of the Uganda Young Democrats (UYD), a DP youth bloc says that the increased public debt has put the country in a recession resulting into a shrinking economy.
He was speaking to journalists at City House Kampala, the home of the DP on Monday when he warned international lending institutions against borrowing to Uganda stating that citizens cannot pay back their loans.
¶It is prudent for all Ugandans and CSOs concerned about Uganda’s debt burden to write to these institutionslending Uganda about the risks at which they are taking to borrow Uganda because all of us know that any coin borrowed to this government cannot paid back,¶ Kiirya appealed
He accuses president Museveni of his too much appetite to continue borrowing on behalf of Uganda despite reports by the World Bank that Uganda is unable to repay her debt burden.
The UYD president appealed to the government to become considerate on the livelihoods of Ugandans other than borrowing to feed their bellies.
“Consider Ugandans who are going to pay these debts, and utilize the little resources available to accommodate the few activities we are having,” Kiirya urged.
On Monday, the FDC spokesperson Ibrahim Ssemujju Nganda also threatened to write to money lenders to stop lending money to the government.
¶We are going to raise a red flag to these lenders not to lend money to Museveni and his ministers,¶ Ssemujju said at a press conference held at FDC Headquarters in Najjanankumbi Kampala on Monday.
Uganda serves about $1.3 billion external debt per year.
According to a report by the Bank of Uganda (December 2022), Úganda’s debt is now at Shs79.9 trillion which is 49% of the country’s GDP. The external debt according to ministry of finance report of March 2022 stood at Shs44 trillion (app. $12.4bn) and domestic debt was Shs25.4 trillion ($7.2b).
China remains Úganda’s biggest lender with over Shs11 trillion ($3 billion). Other countries that lend Uganda money are Nigeria, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Abhu Dhabi and Spain among other countries and foreign banking institutions.
