The increasing prices of everyday products have made life unbearable for many Ugandan households, especially struggling families. Global prices for essential commodities are high everywhere, and no one is having it easy as everyday, they keep rising higher.
The Ugandan authorities have blamed the escalating situation on the long term effects of the Covid-19 pandemic, and the war in Ukraine which has dealt a major shock to commodity markets.
“We can barely buy anything. For weeks now, I have been giving the children food only boiled in water, sometimes when I get margarine, I mix it in the sauce so they can eat it. We even give up sugar because we can’t afford it, everything is very expensive. “, says Susan, a mother of three who is resident in Kampala.
Two weeks ago, the Ugandan State Minister of Finance for Planning, David Bahati in a Parliament address, said the country wasn’t the only one affected by such economic challenges.
“The situation has been worsened by the Russian-Ukraine conflict which has further disrupted the supply of oil, cereals such as wheat, corn, sunflower oil as well as essential metals like aluminium and nickel. The two countries are major producers and exporters of these commodities.
“The free market system is what is causing damage to citizens in Uganda… The government should have the capacity or the interest or the will to be able to dictate some of these things, because once you leave everything to market forces then you are leaving everything to the business people or the private sector,” stated Herbert Jaluum, a business analyst.
The Director of the World Bank’s Prospects Group, Ayhan Kose commented on the impact of the economic crisis facing the world.
“The resulting increase in food and energy prices is taking a significant human and economic toll—and it will likely stall progress in reducing poverty. Higher commodity prices exacerbate already elevated inflationary pressures around the world.”