{"id":5130,"date":"2026-07-16T14:46:45","date_gmt":"2026-07-16T14:46:45","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/eastafrica.news\/en\/?p=5130"},"modified":"2026-07-16T14:46:58","modified_gmt":"2026-07-16T14:46:58","slug":"uganda-eyes-cheaper-foreign-loans-to-ease-debt-burden","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/eastafrica.news\/en\/uganda-eyes-cheaper-foreign-loans-to-ease-debt-burden\/","title":{"rendered":"Uganda Eyes Cheaper Foreign Loans to Ease Debt Burden"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Uganda expects to reduce its fiscal deficit to 3% of GDP by the 2030\/31 financial year<\/strong>, down from 6% this year<\/strong>, as the government moves to rely more on lower-cost external financing to reduce debt-servicing costs.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strategy follows a new debt management plan introduced in March, which seeks to reduce dependence on costly domestic borrowing while expanding access to concessional foreign loans.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite the shift, the Bank of Uganda<\/strong> says the country’s public debt remains at a moderate risk of distress<\/strong>, warning that rising debt-servicing obligations and limited capacity to absorb economic shocks continue to present challenges.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

According to the Ministry of Finance, Uganda’s public debt increased by 8%<\/strong> to $34.9 billion<\/strong> during the second half of last year, largely driven by increased domestic borrowing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

However, the country’s economic outlook remains positive. The central bank said the economy expanded by 8.5%<\/strong> in the second quarter of the 2025\/26 fiscal year<\/strong>, up from 5.3%<\/strong> during the same period a year earlier.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The strong performance was attributed to increased investment in the oil sector, stronger export earnings, and improved agricultural production, signaling continued economic momentum despite fiscal pressures.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Uganda expects to reduce its fiscal deficit to 3% of GDP by the 2030\/31 financial year, down from 6% this year, as the government moves to rely more on lower-cost external financing to reduce debt-servicing costs. The strategy follows a new debt management plan introduced in March, which seeks to reduce dependence on costly domestic…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":10,"featured_media":5131,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"postBodyCss":"","postBodyMargin":[],"postBodyPadding":[],"postBodyBackground":{"backgroundType":"classic","gradient":""},"_uf_show_specific_survey":0,"_uf_disable_surveys":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,18,45],"tags":[88],"class_list":["post-5130","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","category-news","category-world-news","tag-uganda"],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t