Mr. Ramathan Ggoobi, the Secretary to the Treasury and Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, had an interesting day addressing the Uganda Parliamentary Press Association during a workshop on the budget for Financial Year 2024/2025 in Kampala on Friday. As he looked around the room, one could almost hear the mental gymnastics as he defended Uganda’s burgeoning debt.
The Secretary to the Treasury had some strong words for a certain group of Ugandans who keep questioning the government’s enthusiastic borrowing habits. According to the Auditor General’s report, Uganda’s public debt stood at a cozy 96.1 trillion shillings as of June 2023. To put it in perspective, that’s about as much as the combined weight of all the boda bodas in Kampala, but who’s counting?
Mr. Ggoobi, with the confidence of a man whose pockets are not personally affected by the debt, remarked, “There’s a lot of interest in the debate on public debt because debt isn’t a very good thing. But interestingly, those fearing public debt are personally indebted to the bone marrow.” Yes, dear Ugandans, before you lecture the government on debt, make sure your own accounts aren’t as empty as a boda boda’s fuel tank on a Monday morning.
He continued with a call to the media: “Help us with corporate and personal debt. Let Ugandans be as concerned about personal debt as they are about public debt.” After all, why worry about the nation’s future when your own wallet is lighter than a feather?
In a twist that would make a Nollywood scriptwriter proud, Ggoobi suggested that many Ugandans lack the moral authority to criticize the government’s debt, especially when they are borrowing for rather non-productive ventures. Ah, the great Ugandan dream: borrowing for Kwanjula (traditional marriage ceremony) loans and wedding loans. “People are borrowing for weddings. What is the collateral? Is it the bride?… What are you going to earn from the wedding?” A valid question, indeed. Perhaps love, but definitely not interest payments.
At the end of December 2023, Uganda’s total public debt was a mere 93.38 trillion SHILLINGS. By the next fiscal year, it’s expected to balloon to 97.638 trillion shillings. But fear not, dear citizens! Ggoobi assures us that this is all below the “danger threshold” of 52.4 percent of GDP. It’s a bit like saying you’re safe because the floodwaters are only up to your neck, not over your head yet.
Ggoobi highlighted Uganda’s prudent investment strategy. Unlike those reckless countries squandering borrowed money, Uganda is pouring 29 percent into transport infrastructure, 28 percent into energy, and so forth. Roads, airports, dams—projects as concrete as the potholes in Kampala. Remember, a UK Lord once praised our roads! If a Lord says it, it must be true. After all, colonial hangovers still taste like sweet tea and scones.
The workshop turned into a road appreciation session. Ggoobi noted, “We are going to construct a few new roads, but now emphasis is on maintenance.” He added, almost poetically, “You journalists know Uganda better. Why don’t you tell Ugandans?” Ah yes, the journalists. Always on the road, if not stuck in traffic.
Then, in a philosophical musing reminiscent of Aristotle contemplating the nature of existence, Ggoobi compared businesses to humans: “Businesses are like us, they die. Some die and the day one dies, another is born.” So, dear entrepreneurs, take heart. If your business collapses, it’s just the circle of life. Hakuna Matata.
Public reactions, however, were not as poetic. Mr. Julius Mukunda, the executive director of the Civil Society Budget Advocacy Group (CSBAG), had a more grounded view. He emphasized, “It’s the public debt we are talking about. It has become too huge and soon unsustainable. People are borrowing for unproductive things, and we have seen the government paying wages using borrowed money.” A sober reminder amidst the Treasury’s lyrical justifications.
