Africa > Uganda

You are looking at 1 - 10 of 19 items for :

  • Type: Journal Issue x
  • Foreign Exchange x
  • International Lending and Debt Problems x
Clear All Modify Search
International Monetary Fund. African Dept.
This paper discusses Uganda’s Fifth Review Under the Policy Support Instrument (PSI) and Request for Waiver of an Assessment Criterion and Modification of Assessment Criteria. The economy of Uganda has fared well in a difficult environment. Program performance under the PSI was generally positive. All end-June and continuous quantitative assessment criteria were observed, with one exception, and so were most indicative targets. Inflation remained within the bands of the consultation clause. An unprecedented increase in tax revenue was a key achievement. However, further progress on structural reforms is needed. The authorities are rightly adjusting the policy mix. The IMF staff recommends completing the fifth review under the PSI.
International Monetary Fund
The concomitant external shocks experienced in 2008-09 by the East African Community (EAC) countries of Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, and Uganda and stepped-up support by the IMF—including the SDR allocation—and other donors, are likely to arouse renewed interest in the question of the adequate level of international reserves. This paper discusses the evolution of reserve holdings in EAC countries and uses several tools for assessing reserve adequacy in the region. The analysis suggests that reserve levels in most cases seem to include safety buffers, and thus, do not require immediate action. However, the situation could become tighter if export recovery is delayed or export prices do not pick up. Over the medium term, the desirable reserve path should also be adapted to regional and international integration.
International Monetary Fund
The staff report for Uganda’s combined 2008 Article IV Consultation and Fourth Review Under the Policy Support Instrument is presented. Building on a foundation of two decades of sound policies, Uganda achieved an impressive economic performance, with high growth, low inflation, and steady poverty reduction. The deteriorating economic environment could expose weaknesses in banks’ risk management practices, gaps in home-host supervisory arrangements, operational risks as financial innovation outpaces banks’ systems and controls, and increasing risk appetite owing to intensifying competition from the surge of new banks.
International Monetary Fund
This paper discusses key findings of the Third Review Under the Policy Support Instrument for Uganda. All end-December 2007 assessment criteria were met. Macroeconomic performance remains strong and the growth outlook remains positive. IMF staff supports the authorities’ request for waivers of nonobservance of four structural assessment criteria for end-May and end-June 2008. Nonobservance of these assessment criteria was largely owed to changes in program design in light of new information and reassessment of costs and priorities that do not compromise the integrity of the program.
International Monetary Fund
Uganda’s medium-term expenditure framework (MTEF) aims at higher public savings based on spending restraint and rising domestic revenue. The Bank of Uganda (BOU) has successfully contained the one-time shocks to prices of increases in electricity tariffs and temporary sugar and diesel fuel shortages. In an environment of strong inflows, price stability remains the primary objective of monetary policy. A shallow financial sector limits Uganda’s ability to absorb foreign exchange inflows and is in itself a formidable obstacle to faster economic growth.
International Monetary Fund
This 2006 Article IV Consultation highlights that an acute electricity crisis threatens Uganda’s macroeconomic performance. The regional drought in 2005/06 reduced Uganda’s already inadequate hydropower-generating capacity, resulting in a production gap of nearly one-half of demand. The authorities have requested a new three-year policy support instrument in support of their near- and medium-term policies. The authorities’ main objectives are to sustain macroeconomic stability while tackling the ongoing electricity crisis and addressing other infrastructure deficiencies to alleviate existing constraints on growth.
Yongzheng Yang
,
Mr. Robert Powell
, and
Mr. Sanjeev Gupta

Abstract

Au cours des dix prochaines années, les pays africains seront les principaux bénéficiaires de l'augmentation de l'aide extérieure, qui vise à les aider à atteindre les objectifs du millénaire pour le développement. Ce manuel vise à aider ces pays à évaluer les effets macroéconomiques de l'expansion de l'aide et à surmonter les défis qu'ils impliquent. Il se veut une référence pour les responsables, les économistes praticiens sur le terrain et le personnel des institutions financières internationales et des organismes donateurs qui participent à l'élaboration de stratégies à moyen terme pour les pays africains, notamment dans le contexte des documents de stratégie pour la réduction de la pauvreté. Le manuel présente cinq directives principales pour l'élaboration de scénarios d'expansion visant à aider les pays à déterminer les questions politiques importantes pour une gestion efficace de l'augmentation des flux d'aide : comment absorber autant d'aide extérieure que possible, comment augmenter la croissance à court et à moyen terme, comment promouvoir la bonne gouvernance et réduire la corruption, comment préparer une stratégie de sortie pour faire face à une diminution de l'aide, et comment réévaluer régulièrement le dosage de mesures.

Boriana Yontcheva
,
Mr. Peter Isard
,
Mr. Leslie Lipschitz
, and
Mr. Alex Mourmouras

Abstract

Relatively slow progress toward meeting the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by their 2015 target date has added urgency to the challenge of reducing global poverty. The authors of this new book--who include scholars from the IMF, World Bank, Oxford University, and the Center for Global Development--argue that the MDGs cannot be achieved without a substantial scaling up of foreign aid. They show how such increased aid flows must be managed effectively to ensure the greatest benefit. And they offer analysis and insight on a variety of macroeconomic policy implications that both donors and recipients should consider.

Yongzheng Yang
,
Mr. Robert Powell
, and
Mr. Sanjeev Gupta

Abstract

Over the next decade, African countries are expected to be the largest beneficiaries of increased donor aid, which is intended to improve their prospects for achieving the Millennium Development Goals. This handbook will help these countries assess the macroeconomic implications of increased aid and respond to the associated policy challenges. The handbook is directed at policymakers, practicing economists in African countries, and the staffs of international financial institutions and donor agencies who participate in preparing medium-term strategies for African countries, including in the context of poverty reduction strategy papers. It provides five main guidelines for developing scaling-up scenarios to help countries identify important policy issues involved in using higher aid flows effectively: to absorb as much aid as possible, to boost growth in the short to medium term, to promote good governance and reduce corruption, to prepare an exit strategy should aid levels decrease, and to regularly reassess the policy mix.

International Monetary Fund
This paper discusses Uganda’s Sixth Review Under the Three-Year Arrangement Under the Poverty Reduction and Growth Facility (PRGF), Request for Waiver of Performance Criteria, and Request for a Policy Support Instrument (PSI). Performance relative to the sixth and final PRGF review was satisfactory. The authorities request waivers for two performance criteria that were not observed by small margins. Corrective measures will be undertaken during 2006. The authorities have also requested a PSI to begin immediately after the current PRGF arrangement expires.