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Covid funds: Uganda gets the all-clear from IMF
Health workers attend to a Covid-19 patient in an ICU at Mulago National Referral Hospital early 2021. PHOTO/ PROMISE TWINAMUKYE
What you need to know:
- In the brief statement, the IMF Executive Board explained that Ugandan authorities skillfully managed the second wave of the pandemic last July.
Uganda is set to receive financial aid of $125 million (Shs14.2 billion) to help the government fund programmes critical in driving its economic recovery and development in the short and medium term.
The executive board of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) revealed that this will bring “the aggregate disbursement to-date to $385 -million (about Shs44b)” and comes after the Ugandan government implemented their reform agenda steadfastly.
The IMF annually holds bilateral discussions with members. A staff team visits respective countries to get economic and financial information before engaging in discussions with relevant officials.
On return to headquarters, the team prepares a report that forms the basis for discussion by the executive board.
In the brief statement, the IMF Executive Board explained that Ugandan authorities skillfully managed the second wave of the pandemic last July.
The IMF was nonetheless cognisant that the social impact of the pandemic is profound, leaving deep scars on human capital potentially persisting over the medium term.
Mr Bo Li, the deputy managing director at the IMF, stated: “The Ugandan authorities remain firmly committed to their economic programme amidst a challenging environment. Programme performance has been satisfactory. All quantitative targets were met, except one, and all but three structural benchmarks for 2021 were completed.”
Mr Li also commended Uganda’s banking system for being well-capitalised and minimising financial stability risks.
He added that greater exchange rate flexibility is needed to preserve external buffers, with foreign exchange interventions limited to smoothing excessive exchange rate fluctuations.
“Progress on governance reforms—including through regular audits of Covid-19 expenditures, publication of beneficial owners’ information and enhanced scrutiny of politically exposed persons—should be sustained,” he said, adding, “Accelerating financial inclusion, fostering climate adaptation policies and improving trade integration are also essential for building a faster-growing greener economy.”
Impressive
In the brief statement, the IMF Executive Board explained that Ugandan authorities skilfully managed the second wave of the pandemic last July.
