IMF and Uganda reach agreement for $240 mln in financing

The International Monetary Fund (IMF) said on Wednesday it has reached a staff-level agreement with Uganda for a release of about $240 million in financing to the country.

Uganda will have access to the funding once the review is formally completed by the executive board of the IMF in the coming weeks, it said.

The fund said the east African country's economic recovery was underway despite a range of constraints including weak global demand and supply-chain shocks.

Economic growth in the fiscal year 2022/23 (July-June) was projected at 5.3%, 0.7 percentage point lower than at the time of the first review in March.

The new projected growth figure would still be higher than last year's 4.7% as economic activity picks up after the effects of COVID-19 related lockdowns in 2020 and 2021.

Risks to its growth outlook, it said, include, among others, "persistently higher inflation in advanced economies and associated tighter global financial conditions... and more frequent disruptions in activity due to climate change."