Overview:
He also urged government to reduce the risk of debt stress by cutting expenditure.
The Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development, Mr Ramathan Ggoobi, has urged the government of Uganda to concentrate on mobilisation of local domestic revenue, arguing that international funding is declining.
Mr 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 endeavour to generate their own revenue locally.
“Concluded with IMF/World Bank Spring Meetings in Washington DC. Key messages: 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 bear minimum,” he said on Monday.
Mr 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 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 protect only growth-enhancing spending, and provide incentives to attract climate smart financing,” Mr 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 affliated member countries, 350 observer organization representatives and 800 members of the press. Approximately 550 accredited civil society members also participate in the Meetings.