The International Monetary Fund (IMF) has approved the immediate disbursement of the equivalent of SDR 90.25 million (about US$120 million) to Uganda to support budgetary and economic activities.

This was revealed by Ramathan Ggoobi, the Permanent Secretary and Secretary to the Treasury (PSST), on March 7, 2023, during the Ministry of Finance Planning and Economic Development (MoFPED) press briefing on the IMF 5th review of the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) Economic Programme at the MoFPED conference hall.

He said the economic programme aims at supporting economic recovery, ensuring public debt remains sustainable, supporting Uganda’s external position (balance of payments), increasing domestic revenue mobilization, and increasing efficiency in public expenditure.

Ggoobi said that the successful conclusion of the fifth review of the ECF-backed Economic Programme demonstrates the IMF’s confidence in Uganda’s economic trajectory.

“Beyond the ECF disbursement, the successful conclusion of the fifth review shows the confidence that the IMF has in Uganda’s economic trajectory. This confidence is shared by other development partners as well as foreign investors, leading to continued growth in the country’s Foreign direct investment (FDI),” Ggoobi said.

He also stated that the ECF-backed economic programme is based on two equally important components: budget financing of around US$1.0 billion over three years and an interest-free loan from the IMF, and the adoption of economic policies and structural reforms that will maintain the country’s fiscal stability and ensure low risk of debt vulnerabilities.

The ECF program was approved by the IMF Executive Board on June 28, 2021, and will run until June 2024.