Uganda’s public debt has hit USD10.53 billion (Shs40.4 trillion) as at March 2018. External debt comprise USD7.18 billion (Shs27.58 trillion), while domestic debt stands at USD3.35 billion (Shs12.8 trillion).
This was revealed by the country’s finance minister, Matia Kasaija on Thursday while presenting the Shs32.7 trillion 2018/19 budget at Kampala Serena Hotel.
“The ratio of Public debt to GDP now stands at 38.1 percent in nominal terms. This is much lower than the threshold of 50% beyond which public debt becomes unsustainable,” Kasaija said.
He added: “Our public debt is therefore sustainable over the short to medium term, even when we include the financing required for priority projects in the pipeline.”
He added that in line with the Medium Term Debt Strategy, Uganda’s borrowing strategy is to contract concessional loans while restricting commercial loans to the financing of infrastructure and self – financing projects.
“This will help to ensure long term debt sustainability,” he said.
Detailed budget analysis to follow
