Opposition MPs Rebuke IMF Over Loans Given to Museveni

The Leader of the opposition in Parliament, Mathias Mpuuga, has held discussions with the country representative of the International Monetary Fund (IMF), Izabela Karpowicz, and the donor agency’s chief of mission, Amine Mati.

The meeting, held under the auspices of the Parliamentary Forum on the IMF and the World Bank, was intended to brief the Opposition leadership on government programmes supported by the two lending institutions.

Addressing the meeting via zoom from Washington DC, Mati took time to explain the US$1 billion loan facility for Uganda which was approved by the IMF executive board in June under the Extended Credit Facility (ECF) arrangement to support the post-COVID-19 recovery and the authorities’ plan to increase households’ incomes and inclusive growth by fostering private sector development.   

Mati said that Uganda was picked for the three-year financing package upon realisation that its economy had been hit hard by the COVID-19 crisis which reversed decade-long gains in poverty reduction, a deterioration of the fiscal balances plus causing pressures on external buffers.

Mpuuga told the IMF team that questions about the loan have remained in the public domain since the government remained cagey on the intent of the loan, and also questioned the manner of how the IMF approved the loan without first seeking Parliamentary approval.

“We are surprised that seeking Parliamentary approval for the loan wasn’t critical for the IMF,” Mpuuga said adding that, ‘some of these conditions that are subject to the laws of the land should be respected because oversight begins with respect of the laid down procedure’.

Mati however, said that since the IMF deals directly with the Government and the Central Bank, the donors took it that there was conformity with the laws by the time applied for the loan.

Budadiri West MP Nandala Mafabi, who is also a board member of the Parliamentary Forum on the IMF and the World Bank, tasked the IMF team to explain whether they took into consideration Uganda’s absorption capacity following the Auditor General’s report that indicated that many loans have not been utilised.