According to the events, could affect Uganda’s tourism receipts and diaspora remittances and worse if the global economy falls into recession. Uganda gets money and loans from development partners from her infrastructure projects from countries such as China, USA, European Union and Britain.
The government has said it was concerned that the happenings in the global north
could potentially have a negative impact on the economy.
Speaking at the third Economic Growth Forum on Thursday at Imperial Royale
Hotel in Kampala, the Prime Minister Ruhakana Rugunda singled out the trade war
between China and USA and the impending United Kingdom’s exit from the European
Union.
Rugunda said these might affect Uganda’s tourism receipts and diaspora
remittances – worse if the global economy falls into recession.
Uganda gets donor money and loans to do infrastructure projects from these
countries. A potential slowdown in any of these means less money would be
dispersed to receiving countries.
With expected decline in the performance of UK’s economy, Rugunda fears it
could affect Uganda’s tourism receipts. Also, that it could affect the job
market in UK hence reducing diaspora remittances from Ugandans in the UK.
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Pew
Research Remittance flows report 2017 puts remittance from United Kingdom to
Uganda at $372,000,000 (about 1.4 trillion shillings).
Uganda
expects the economy to grow at between 6.3 to 6.5% in the 2019/20 financial
year.
Uncertainties
over what is happening in donor countries could impact this growth.
Bank of
Uganda had raised similar concerns in its monetary policy report for August
2019.
Rugunda says, however, that government is working hard to tackle any risks that
global events posse to Uganda’s development.
He also adds that Ugandans need to make concerted efforts to increase household
income.
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Richard Newfarmer,
the International Growth Center Country Director Uganda, says Uganda needs to
improve her domestic production through managing the changing weather and
climate patterns.
He says
that the rising global temperatures pose a risk to production especially in
countries like Uganda where agriculture depends on weather.
