{UAH} OK! HERE'S THE NATIONAL DEBT BURDEN REALITY

Because we are being wantonly fooled by economic theories, let's quickly check three simple pieces of national economic data which clearly indicate debt management incompetence.
First, Uganda's GDP is expected to be at $27 billion US dollars for this year 2019.
Secondly, Uganda's national debt is at $15 billion US dollars (latest February 2019 figures from Uganda Debt Network).
And lastly, the World Bank says that the national debt should not exceed 50% of GDP.
So 50% of the $27 billion GDP mentioned above equals to $13.5 billion dollars.
Meaning we are not supposed to have a national debt that exceeds $13.5 billion dollars.
But yet we have already exceeded it because the national debt is mentioned above at $15 billion dollars as calculated by Uganda Debt Network's latest figures.
That is $1.5 billion dollars above the recommended limit, therefore putting Uganda beyond the safe Debt-to-GDP ratio of 50%.
We are actually now at 55.6% in that ratio, and we are still taking another 1.4 trillion shillings loan for a questionable international hospital which will put us further under a greater debt burden. That is $40 million dollars more debt as we speak for that new project yet I am told that there was a more moral request for that amount to be spent in building over 30 health centers in rural area's across the country.
Meanwhile, nobody is talking about how to reduce the national debt, nor is parliament or Ministry of Finance showing any debt management plan that should be implemented especially now that the danger debt-to-GDP threshold has been attained, even surpassed.
Obviously the solution is simple: Stop taking new loans.
But why do I have the impression that I am giving this free advice to a dense mountain rock that doesn't have neither ears, nor a brain?
I have not heard that basic solution being officially tabled anywhere yet.
As I pointed out recently, the problem is not economic. It is the financial indiscipline mentally of a decision-maker behind the constant taking of loans without self-control debt management restrictions. Guess who the person pushing for the new hospital loan turns out to be? I heard him thanking MP's in Kyankwanzi for approving the new loan and thereby not sabotaging his three pet projects.
I now wonder what economics linguistics he will use to try and claim that "the country's debt levels are ok and my fiscal policy tools which are still maintaining government financing under the acceptable Debt-to-GDP ratio threshold".
If anyone hears anything like that being stated publicly out there, just know immediately that it is just bogus economics linguistics.
Some people are far less intelligent than they make themselves appear. And those who actually know are mostly quiet.
Next time I will get into more details regarding the colonial economic model that we are back to today, and which we are calling development, yet in reality it is just a few jobs to some Ugandans but mass exporting of major industry financial earnings abroad and not even the government finances its programs and service delivery for the people from this so-called development since the investors get huge tax holidays. Therefore essentially taking us back to the days of economic colonialism of maximal exploitation...at our own expense sometimes like this new hospital loan inficates. Clearly a bad deal for the country but possibly a good one for some individuals poised to enrich themselves using the state, and other bogus, manipulative but populist excuses.

Thank you.

Signed: Hussein Lumumba Amin
16th March 2019
Kampala, Uganda

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