The Permanent Secretary to the Treasury at the Ministry of Finance Ramathan Ggoobi has called for the use of automated transactions and effective budget tracking to reduce the waste and swindling of public funds.
Ggoobi believes this will help in curbing corruption and illicit transaction flow within government ministries and agencies.
Ggoobi made the call as he unveiled the Debt Sustainability Analysis Report for the financial year 2021/2022, which indicates that public debt rose from 47.0 percent in 2020/21 to 48.4 percent in 2021/22 financial year.
The economic times in Uganda and around the world have been tough and unforgiving in the recent past, which explains an uptake of public debt for most economies. But while debt continued on an upward trend, the debt sustainability analysis report shows that the rate of accumulation slowed compared to the previous two financial years.
The slow down according to the Secretary to the treasury at the Ministry of Finance Ramathan Ggoobi is explained by a number of factors including recovery in GDP growth and government efforts towards fiscal consolidation.
“For the past two years, Uganda has been grappling from Covid-19 and its adverse effects on the economy, but in the medium term the country will register an increase of GDP to over 7%” Ggoobi said.
In the medium term, Uganda’s growth, according to the ministry, will be driven primarily by activities in the oil and Gas sector, which have already taken off in terms of preparation for the first commercial Oil.
Ggoobi believes Uganda’s Debt is moderate and is expected to decline in the short term with strategies being put in place to manage it through growth, wealth creation and increasing caution on government expenditure
However, senior economist Dr. Fred Muhumuza says the government should cut expenditures on vehicles.
“Uganda should reduce the motor vehicle fleet, let the government consider leasing vehicles as a means of alleviating the pressure of acquisition and shift it to the private sector as a way of promoting its growth”Muhumuza said.
