As he presented his credentials to Ugandan Foreign Affairs Minister Sam Kutesa, the new African Development Bank (AfDB) country manager in Uganda Augustine Kpehe Ngafuan assured him that the financial institution will continue supporting the East African nation in different areas of development.
Ngafuan, who met Kutesa on Feb. 19, revealed that the African Development Bank would soon sign new financing agreements with the Ugandan government. One of these, he said, would be a financing agreement for $229 million for the Kampala-Jinja Expressway Project.
The cabinet also recently approved the Bank’s $33 million COVID-19 Crisis Response Support package. On his part, Minister Kutesa said the Ugandan government was highly appreciative of the AfDB’s support for projects in Uganda, especially those in infrastructure.
According to Ngafuan, the Bank considers Uganda a significant partner. AfDB is currently funding a portfolio comprising 24 projects worth about USD1.87 billion. The majority of these are public sector projects, with 19 operations amounting to $1.58 billion.
The development bank is also funding five private sector projects valued at $268.9 million. The transport sector, according to the new country manager, comprises 62% of the Bank’s current total portfolio in Uganda. The Bank and Uganda’s finance ministry are soon to agree on a three-year lending program for Uganda.
The program will target new projects during the 2021-2023 lending window.
“The Bank is also preparing a completion report on Uganda’s Country Strategy Paper (2017-2021). At the same time, it is developing the successor Country Strategy Paper (2022-2026), which will be aligned with the Uganda Vision 2040 economic transformation agenda,” AfDB said in a news release.
Country strategy papers assess a country’s development prospects and challenges, as well as a government's strategic options.
