Parliament Approves Government Request to Borrow UGX 1.9 Trillion from World Bank

Parliament has approved a request by the Government to borrow up to US$518 million approximately Shillings 1.923 trillion from the World Bank to finance the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area Urban Development Programme. This follows the adoption of a report presented to the House by John Bosco Ikojo, the Chairperson of the Committee on National Economy, which scrutinized the requisition during a plenary sitting chaired by Deputy Speaker, Thomas Tayebwa on Wednesday. 

At a plenary sitting held on May 24, 2023, the Minister of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development presented a proposal to the House to borrow up to Special Drawing Rights – SDR 34.8 million, an equivalent of USD 48 million from the International Development Association- IDA of the World Bank Group, and also borrow up to Euro 40 Million (USD 42.66 Million) from Agence Francaise De Development (AFD). With an estimated population of 5.8 million, the Greater Kampala Metropolitan Area comprises Kampala City, and eight Local Government entities namely; Entebbe, Kira, Makindye-Ssebagabo, Mukono and Nansana Municipalities and Mukono, Mpigi, and Wakiso districts. 

Based on the anticipated allocations, the maximum amount any one of the entities would receive in total ranges from US$4.4 million (16.244 billion Shillings to US$23.38 million (86.317 billion per year, based on minimum conditions plus a performance top-up. In the report, Ikojo explained that the borrowing is expected to spur the achievement of Uganda Vision 2040 of upper-middle-income status which depends largely on the transformation of Greater Kampala Metropolitan as a productive, resilient, and liveable city. 

The program component includes road rehabilitation and upgrading, drainage channels, markets, and artisan parks as well as institutional strengthening among others. The project will cost an overall US$1.179 million, approximately 4.380 trillion Shillings over a period of five years as detailed in the GKMA Economic Development Strategy (2020 - 2030). Cabinet approved the Development Framework 2040 in 2013, and was adopted in 2019 to promote the vital economic contribution and competitiveness of GKMA, and gazetted it as a special planning area worth an investment portfolio of US$2,995 million.

Source: URN