President Yoweri Museveni. Uganda’s economy has come under attack since the anti-gay law came into force. FILE
Fitch Ratings says that Uganda will hardly feel the impact of suspended donor aid for introducing tough laws on homosexuality.
The international ratings agency said that the country has been weaning off donor support and is unlikely to feel the effects of reduced donor aid.
“Uganda has become less dependent on aid in recent years, and the authorities have managed the budget through previous suspensions by re-prioritising spending,” said Fitch in a brief.
The agency said that grants as a percentage of the government’s revenues had fallen to 12 per cent in 2013 from 40 per cent in 2012.
Fitch said it estimates that this would fall further to nine per cent by the end of this year and in the absence of donor aid the country may opt to re-prioritise spending.
The World Bank suspended a $90 million (Sh7.8 billion) for the country’s health system after President Yoweri Museveni signed tough anti-homosexuality laws two weeks ago.
Sweden and Norway followed suit by suspending $9 million (Sh780 million) in aid flow while Denmark said that it would channel aid through civil society. The US has said that it will review its lending programme. The US is the biggest bilateral lender accounting for $400 million (Sh34.6 billion) in loans and grants annually.
Fitch said that it has maintained its B or stable rating on the country but added that the country’s currency felt some pressure after the signing of the new laws.
PAYE Tax Calculator
Note: The results are not exact but very close to the actual.
