Government Tables UGX 1.4 Trillion Loan Requests

Government has asked Parliament to approve loans totaling US Dollars 399 million (about 1.4 trillion Shillings) to fund key health, agriculture, and infrastructure projects. 

Minister of State for Finance – General Duties, Henry Musasizi, presented the requests on Wednesday afternoon during a plenary session chaired by Speaker Annet Anita Among.

The loans include US$47.5 million (167.79 billion Shillings) to construct and equip oncology centres in Mbale and Arua, US$99.56 million (351.69 billion Shillings) from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to implement the Resilient Livestock Value Chain Project, and US$252 million (890.29 billion Shillings) from the African Development Bank and African Development Fund to construct the Busega–Mpigi Expressway.

Musasizi explained that the government plans to borrow up to €9.4 million from Unicredit Bank Austria for the Mbale Oncology Centre and US$36.5 million from the Islamic Development Bank for the Arua Oncology Centre and radiotherapy equipment for Mbale.

Speaker Among reminded MPs to follow constitutional procedures for loan approvals and stressed the urgency of processing the IFAD loan before its 12th September 2025 deadline. She noted that the loan carries a grant component and directed the Committee on National Economy to report back by Tuesday. 

She also urged MPs to expedite consideration of the oncology loan proposals. “The proposal stands referred for expeditious consideration. Remember, we are going to have a break soon, so we should consider this as fast as possible,” she said.

Parliament referred all three loan requests to the Committee on National Economy for detailed scrutiny before the House makes a final decision.