Uganda’s optimism in the first quarter of the financial year 2017/18 has been replaced with fear of a slow growing economy. The central bank’s latest quarterly report dubbed ‘State of the Economy’ shows that gross domestic product was slower in the first quarter compared with the last quarter of the last financial year, AllAfrica reported. Citing the estimates of the economic activities by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics, Governor Emmanuel T. Mutebile, said the economy grew by 1.3% in the first quarter of the FY 2017/18, which is lower than 2.5% in the fourth quarter of FY 2016/17. “This is consistent with estimates of the Bank of Uganda’s early warning indicator–the composite index of economic activity, which indicates a rebound of economic activity, driven by strong growth in industrial activity,” the report reads in part. According to the report, public debt stood at Shs 37.9 trillion ($10.23 billion) as at the end of December compared with Shs34.4 trillion in June 2017, representing a 9.4% growth. The external and domestic debt amounted to Shs 25.1 trillion and Shs 12.8 trillion respectively, which is an increase of 12.2% and 4.2%, respectively, during the same period under review.
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