Pius Bigirimana blows sh 28bn in YLP

By our Correspondent

Much as our debt hits sh 41tn if taxes are well utilised we can clear this debt in no time but if we continue allowing the likes of Bigirimana to blow ss 28bn in YLP then the debt will begin hitting us.
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And the auditor general said Uganda’s public debt has increased by 22 per cent, rising from Shs 33.99 trillion as at June 30, 2017, to Shs 41.51 trillion as at June 30, 2018, according to the 2018 auditor general’s report.
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Handing over the report to the speaker of parliament Rebecca Kadaga, the auditor general John Muwanga said that payment for loans worth Shs 3.9 trillion which are 50 per cent of those he has studied, expires in 2020.
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Muwanga said that if the government is to service the loans as projected in the next financial year 2019/2020, it would require more than 65 per cent of the total revenue collections which is over and above the sustainability levels.

“Although Uganda’s debt to GDP ratio of 41 per cent is still below the International Monetary Fund (IMF) risky threshold of 50 per cent and compares well with other East African countries, it is unfavourable when debt payment is compared to national revenue collected which is the highest in the region at 54 percent”, reads the summary of the audit report.
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He noted that the interest payments on domestic and external debt during the financial year 2017/2018 amounted to Shs 2.34 trillion, 17 per cent of the total revenue collections, which is above the limit set in Public Debt Management Framework, 2013 of 15 per cent.
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“Although absorption of external debt has improved compared to last financial year, he noted some loans with absorption levels as low as 10 per cent and below.
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An example is the USMID project with over Shs 95 billion (95 per cent) still on the various accounts of Municipal Councils by close of the year, despite various incomplete and abandoned works due to non-payment to contractors.
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Another project cited by the auditor general is the Mbarara-Nkenda and Tororo-Lira transmission line, which, he said has delayed for almost 8 years – resulting into the cancellation of the loan by the funder with a disbursed loan amount of $6.5 million.
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Muwanga also noted that significant value loans have stringent conditions which could have adverse effects on Uganda’s ability to sustain