Uganda’s economic growth has slowed down to 4.6 per cent for the financial year 2015/16.
Statistics released by the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos) have revealed that the economy recorded an 8 per cent drop in its growth rate of from the previous 5.0 per cent that was recorded in the financial year 2014/15.
The slump in Uganda’s real GDP growth is attributed to volatilities that were experienced by the economy, affecting various economic activities resulting in low investments in the country.
Dr Chris Mukiza, the director of macroeconomic statistics at Ubos, said Uganda’s economy continued to grow in the financial year 2015/16 but at a slower pace than the previous year. “Uganda’s economy has continued to grow in size; in real terms the economy expanded by Shs55.7 trillion from Shs53.2 trillion in the last financial year,” he said.
Sectors that performed better included agriculture which as a whole grew by 3.2 per cent, up from 2.3 per cent. The main contributors of growth in agriculture were cash crops which grew by 2.2 per cent; food crops 3.1 per cent from 2.9 per cent and forestry 3.7 per cent, from 1.7 per cent.
Dr Mukiza said the services sector grew by 6.6 per cent from 4.5 per cent. The main contributors in the sector are; transportation and storage which grew by 7.7 per cent from 6.2 per cent, accommodation and food services at 6.9 per cent from -0.1 per cent.
“Construction set also performed well growing from 2.5 per cent to 5.7 per cent, information and communication registered the same growth of 2.7 per cent as it was last financial year,” he said.
Dr Mukiza said the sectors that performed worse were manufacturing which declined to 0.4 per cent from 11.0 per cent and industry 3.0 per cent from 7.8 per cent last year financial year.
The current situation shows that government will not realise all the taxes it had planned in the Budget for this financial year ending on June 30, 2016.
Dr Mukiza said the GDP estimates show that taxes on products have also been hit so much, registering a growth rate of 0.5 per cent down from 9.4 per cent last financial year.
Uganda Bureau of Statistics releases GDP figures twice in each financial year. Dr Mukiza said the final GDP growth figures will be update in October 2016.
Senior economist at the World Bank country office, Ms Rachael Sebudde Kagawan noted that the slowdown is not good, but understandable.
“There were a lot of volatilities in the economy though it was managed and there was also a lot anxieties being an election year. These all together could have contributed to the slower GDP growth rate,” she said, adding that the slowdown in the global and regional economic growth could have affected Uganda.
