WB Upbeat About Uganda Growth

The Uganda economy could grow at a rate of 5.2% during the current financial year 2017/18, according to the latest World Bank update. That figure represents a 100% positive shift in the rate of economic growth and is the only positive sliver in a report that dwelt mainly on the poor performance of the economy in the previous FY 2016/17, AllAfrica reported. For the financial year ending June 2017, the government failed to execute many public investments, continued to perform badly in revenue collection, and had to deal with a terrible drought—all which slowed economic growth. The aftershocks of the high inflation of 2011 that peaked at 30% were still having lingering effects and continued to constrain private investments. Commercial bank credit to the private sector remained subdued and the government’s financial policy is undermined by overspending on operational matters such as wages and less on the development budget. On a positive note, inflation remained low, through the year, allowing sustained easing of monetary policy.