MEFMI / World Bank / UNCTAD Conduct DeMPA Mission for Uganda

At the request of the Ministry of Finance, Planning, and Economic Development (MoFPED) in Uganda, a joint MEFMI / World Bank / UNCTAD mission conducted a debt management performance assessment (DeMPA) in Kampala, Uganda. DeMPA is a methodology for assessing public debt management performance through a comprehensive set of indicators spanning the full range of government debt management functions. It focuses on central government debt management activities and closely-related functions, such as the issuance of loan guarantees, on-lending, cash flow forecasting, and cash balance management. Thus, the DeMPA does not assess the ability to manage the wider public debt portfolio, including implicit contingent liabilities or the debt of State Owned Enterprises (SOEs), if these are not guaranteed by the central government. The central government is nonetheless responsible for managing its contingent liabilities and thus for ensuring supervision of public debt and guaranteed public sector debt. The DeMPA tool presents the 14 debt performance indicators along with a scoring methodology.

The DeMPA was conducted against a background of a significant increase in Uganda’s public debt over the past decade. As at end-2017, total public debt was estimated at US$10.3 billion, equivalent to 40.0 percent of GDP compared to 17 percent in 2006. In view of the associated cost and risks, the MoFPED found it necessary to invite the World Bank to assess the legal, institutional and human capacity for managing public debt. The Bank teamed up with MEFMI and UNCTAD to conduct the DeMPA. The mission was funded under the World Bank’s Debt Management Facility for low income countries, of which MEFMI is an implementing partner.
The objective of the mission was to assess Uganda’s public debt management performance, focusing on the strengths and areas that require improvement. The ultimate goal of the assessment was to establish a baseline for future reforms in debt management.
The mission had meetings with staff in the Directorate of Debt and Cash Policy in the Ministry of Finance. They also met senior officials in the Accountant General’s office, internal audit department and macroeconomic management in the MoFPED as well the statistics and financial markets department in the Bank of Uganda. Meetings were also held with representatives of the main domestic debt market participants. At the end of the mission, there was a wrap-up meeting chaired by the Acting Commissioner of the Debt and Cash Policy Department in the Ministry of Finance, Ms. Maris Wanyera.
The main output of the mission was a report on the findings of the debt management performance assessment. The main finding was that the Government of Uganda has implemented several debt management reforms in recent years. The reforms have improved debt management as witnessed by significant improvements in this DeMPA assessment compared with the one undertaken in 2009. However, there are areas where further reforms are required going forward.
The mission comprised Messrs Lars Jessen, Elliot Riordan and Ms. Celina Makhele (all World Bank), Mr. Stanislas Nkhata (MEFMI) and Ms. Aurelie Legrand (UNCTAD.