Gov’t seeks Shs 1.4 trillion loan to fund health

The government has tabled before parliament three loan requests totalling over $399 million (approximately Shs 1.4 trillion) to reportedly fund key projects in the health, agriculture, and infrastructure sectors.

The request was presented on Wednesday by the minister of state for Finance (General Duties), Henry Musasizi, during a plenary session chaired by speaker Anita Among. The loan requests include:

$47.5 million (Shs 167.79 billion) for the construction and equipping of oncology centres in Mbale and Arua.
$99.56 million (Shs 351.69 billion) from the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD) to implement the Resilient Livestock Value Chain Project.
$252 million (Shs 890.29 billion) from the African Development Bank and African Development Fund to construct the Busega–Mpigi expressway.

Musasizi specified that the funding for the oncology centres would be sourced from different lenders – €9.4 million (Shs 38.5 billion) from Unicredit Bank Austria for the Mbale centre, and $36.5 million (Shs 128.4 billion) from the Islamic Development Bank for the Arua centre and radiotherapy equipment for Mbale.

Speaker Among reminded the members of parliament to adhere to constitutional procedures for loan approvals and stressed the urgency of processing the IFAD loan before its September 12, 2025, deadline.

She highlighted that the loan includes a grant component and directed the committee on National Economy to report back by next Tuesday. The speaker also urged the MPs to expedite their review 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,” Among said.

All three loan requests have been sent to the committee on National Economy for detailed scrutiny before the House makes its final decision.