Coronavirus (COVID-19) has stretched government’s resources available to finance the needs and requirements of the health sector and the regressing economy during the pandemic.
The government has successfully received donations from development partners like World Vision, Foreign countries’ missions here, banks, corporate companies, and individuals alike but all that seems not enough to address the gaps that have been caused by COVID-19.
This is why the government, through the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development has proposed to borrow US$300 million (about Shs1.13 trillion) from the International Development Association under the World Bank to support the health sector.
The Ministry also has another proposal of borrowing US$250 million (about 946b) from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to support Bank of Uganda in addressing the current challenges in the economy.
These proposals were presented to Parliament by State Minister of Finance for Planning David Bahati.
“This facility we have presented is part of the interventions to address some of the negative effects and seize the opportunities in the current situation. We are also finalizing consultations with different stakeholders on our comprehensive economic response strategy,” Bahati said.
This comes nearly two weeks after the IMF approved a Shs1.9 trillion loan to Uganda to help address the economic impact of COVID-19.