An agreement for 240 million US dollars in funding has been agreed between Uganda and the International Monetary Fund, IMF.
The disclosure was made on Wednesday by IMF officials (Dec. 21). The agreement on economic policies closes out the Extended Credit Facility arrangement’s second and third reviews.
Countries with persistent balance of payments issues can receive financial aid under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF).
This program offers financial support to nations who have ongoing balance of payments issues. It is the Fund’s primary tool for giving low-income nations medium-term help.
After the IMF executive board has officially concluded the review, Uganda will be able to access the cash in the upcoming weeks.
The money will boost the amount of IMF funding provided for the program that is funded by the ECF to approximately US$ 625 million.
According to the fund, the economy is beginning to revive. The expected rate of growth for the fiscal year 2022–23 (July–June) was 5.3%, which is 0.7 percentage points less than it was at the time of the initial review in March.
The international organisation claims that this reflects both the impact of rising inflation and interest rates on domestic demand as well as decreased global demand.
The declaration followed a virtual mission to Uganda by the IMF team, led by the head of the World Economic Studies division of the IMF’s Research Department, from October 31 to November 22, 2022, to discuss the state of reforms and the government’s top policy priorities.
This is coming after the IMF okayed the disbursement of $447.39 million to Kenya after a review of its lending programme.
It should also be recalled that the IMF announced that it would provide Ghana its first installment of roughly $3 billion by the first quarter of 2023, according to the Finance Minister, Ken Ofori-Atta.
The Minister claims that the medium-term macro-economic framework, structural reforms, and important fiscal measures included in the 2023 Budget are in line with the IMF-supported Programme.