Uganda’s national debt crisis is escalating as Parliament , led by the Speaker Hon. Anita Among, is abruptly recalled from recess to urgently process a fresh batch of loans totaling over Shs2.177 trillion.
This significant new borrowing request comes at a time when the country’s public debt has already surged past the internationally recommended sustainability threshold.
The Clerk to Parliament, Adolf Mwesige, issued a notice for a plenary sitting on December 16, 2025, where Members of Parliament (MPs) will consider several high-value loan items and receive the 2026/27 National Budget Framework Paper; the document that sets the stage for the next financial year’s spending plans.
The New Trillion-Shilling Burden
The Shs2.177 trillion worth of loans up for consideration on the Order Paper includes three major items:
Kayunga-Bbaale-Galiraya Road: A motion to authorise the pre-financing of the design and construction of the Kayunga-Bbaale-Galiraya Road (87km) from gravel to paved standard.
Makerere University Improvement Project: A motion to authorise the government to borrow up to US$ 162 Million (Shs575.6 Billion) from the Korea Export Import Bank for the Makerere University Improvement Project.
Infrastructure and Budget Financing: A motion to authorise the government to borrow up to Euro 385 Million (Shs1.602 Trillion) from Rand Merchant Bank (RMB) and other financial institutions to finance government infrastructure and the National Budget Framework Paper 2026/2027 to 2030/2031.
However, the sheer volume of new borrowing is ringing alarm bells among economists and civil society groups, given the current state of the national debt.
Uganda’s Alarming Debt Trajectory
By the end of June 2025, Uganda’s total public debt stock had risen to Shs116.2 Trillion (US$ 32.3 billion), representing 51.3% of the GDP. This figure surpasses the 50% threshold recommended by the International Monetary Fund (IMF) for low-income countries.
Debt Per Citizen: According to the latest estimates, each Ugandan is now indebted to the tune of approximately Shs2.5 Million to Shs3 Million, a burden that continues to rise with every new loan approval.
In a troubling shift, domestic borrowing, which is generally more expensive, now slightly surpasses external debt, standing at Shs60.3 Trillion as of June 2025.
Debt Service Drain
It is important to note that the cost of servicing this debt is severely straining the national budget. Reports indicate that Shs32 out of every Shs100 collected in tax revenue is now consumed by debt service payments, diverting crucial resources away from vital social services like health and education.
While some lawmakers, like Hassan Kirumira (Katikamu South), describe the current borrowing appetite as ‘alarming’, warning that many loan-funded projects are stalled or never start, others argue that borrowing is essential for infrastructure and service delivery.
The risk of accumulating debt is particularly acute when the funds are not utilised efficiently or when non-concessional (high-interest) loans are acquired. Critics point out that rising debt levels expose the country to currency fluctuations, higher interest rates, and the possibility of a ‘debt safety trap’, where current sustainability metrics falsely signal more borrowing room than is fiscally prudent.
The sitting on December 16, 2025, is set to be a pivotal session, not only for kickstarting the budget process but also for determining the immediate scale of Uganda’s national debt commitment in the coming years.