The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Ramathan Ggoobi, has urged the government of Uganda to concentrate on mobilization of local domestic revenue, citing decline in the international funding. Ggoobi said he has been attending the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington DC from where countries were informed that donor taps are drying and hence they must endeavor to generate their own revenue locally.
“I have concluded with the IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington DC. International funding is declining and non-concessional sources are getting more expensive. So, we must step up collection of domestic revenue, and keep fiscal deficits at the bare minimum,” he said on Monday. Ggoobi, who is the Secretary to the Treasury, said the little money available (both concessional and non-concessional) is slowly moving to financing mainly climate-smart investments.
“So, we must reform our fiscal frameworks to provide clarity, incentives and capacity building,” he said. He also urged the government to reduce the risk of debt stress by cutting expenditure. “Bottom line, we must reduce the risk of debt distress by increasing revenue collection, cutting government spending and protecting only growth-enhancing spending, and providing incentives to attract climate smart financing,” Ggoobi said.
In East Africa, Kenya and Rwanda have recently seen their debt levels climb to more than 60 per cent of the economies, while Burundi, Uganda and Tanzania also recorded ratios just above 40 per cent. Uganda’s total debt in 2022 was estimated at $21 billion US Dollars as opposed to revenue collections of just $6 billion.
The Spring Meetings are usually attended by approximately 2,800 delegates from World Bank affiliated member countries, 350 observer organization representatives and 800 members of the press. Approximately 550 accredited civil society members also participate in the Meetings.
