We the undersigned Civil Society Organizations (CSOs) and representatives from the Private Sector wish to express our concerns on the disbursement and management of the funds allocated to the Stimulus Package by the Government of Uganda.
We wish to note that the COVID-19 pandemic has disrupted supply chains and exacerbated existing vulnerabilities especially in Low Income Countries like Uganda.
According to Ministry of Health, as of April 2021, Uganda has registered over 40,751 cases with 341 deaths. In a bid to curb the spread of COVID-19, the Government of Uganda put in place a number of measures including restrictions on transport and closure of non-essential businesses among others. This has greatly affected the country’s economy and livelihoods as lives were lost and unemployment rates spiked. Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) who comprise of over 90% of Uganda’s Private Sector were hit most by the pandemic through the supply, demand and financial shocks. Due to the aforementioned measures, Uganda has faced a multi-layered crisis comprising of a health burden, domestic economic disruptions, capital flow reversals, and disruption of value chains which led to reduced demand and supply of goods and services and weaker commodity prices. With Uganda’s GDP growth rate declining to 2.9% in FY 2019/20 from 5.7% that was realized the previous Financial Year, the need to resuscitate the economy has become pressing now more than ever.
