The Independent Uganda: You get the Truth we Pay the Price
Kampala, Uganda | THE INDEPENDENT | The World Bank and International Monetary Fund have called for the suspension of debt repayments for poorer countries as many of them turn to focus on battling the Coronavirus (COVID -19).
In a joint statement on Wednesday night, the two multi-lateral lenders said the Coronavirus outbreak is likely to have severe economic and social consequences for the International Development Association (IDA) countries, which make up two-thirds (66%) of the world’s population living in extreme poverty.
IDA countries are those whose people earn low incomes per year. Uganda is among these countries. The two institutions’ call is directed at the G20 – the 20 most industrialised countries – that are bilateral lenders to the poor countries. China is the biggest lender here.
The statement said “with immediate effect—the World Bank Group (WBG) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) call on all official bilateral creditors to suspend debt payments from IDA countries that request forbearance.”
It said this will help countries’ immediate liquidity needs to tackle challenges posed by the Coronavirus outbreak.
Poorer countries’ debt has grown exponentially since 2008 with analysts predicting debt stress for many of them. The debt was accumulated to build infrastructure and push up growth.
In an earlier report, the World Bank said by the end of 2018, poorer countries had accumulated a total of $387 billion in external debt stock, more than double the level of a decade earlier.
External debt among Sub-Saharan African countries, where Uganda falls, grew faster than in other regions.
Uganda’s debt stock has grown by 437 percent since 2008, the World Bank says. Other countries that have had swift debt growth include Ethiopia (885%), Zambia (521%), and Ghana (395%). Uganda’s public debt currently stands at $12.4bn (Shs 47tn).
Yet in the face of the Covid-19, these countries are facing challenges of where to get money to pay back as many are not collecting enough revenues with businesses on standstill.
On Wednesday, Uganda ordered a partial lock-down with public transport suspended for 14 days.
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hello!!
Hope this finds you well.
I am Benjamin abunuasi a refugee in Uganda from DR-congo.
Founder of y-innovation hub(YINNOH) with a mission of empowering young refugees and marginalized youth from the host community to become social entrepreneurs/job creators. that we are soon implementing at the rwamwanja camp.
we do this trough personal and professional development, discover their abilities, passion , purpose, unleash their potential and uncover their talents to live self-sustainable by creating their own enterprises.
we are a model of social innovation academy(SINA).
currently refugees in the rwamwanja camp receive 22ugx for monthly meal.
with the lock-down due to covid19 there is no access to food within the market because farmers do not have means to supply food in the camp.
eventually, refugee compute for the little food in the market which put them at a higher risk of spreading the virus.
YINNOH and it mentors, we managed to conduct a 4days online boot-camp with different young refugees living in the rwamwanja camp and came-up with potential solutions for refugees to still access food in the quarantine period.
we believe that in synergy we can push this forward together with your support.
If you are interested in exploring this opportunity further, we can arrange an urgent phone call in the following time, to see how best we can support this marginalized people against hunger and the risk of spreading the virus.
We looking forward to hearing from you.
have a nice evening.
my best regards
Benjamin abunuasi founder of y-innovation hub and mentor.
phone:+256705880652/ 791677785