Uganda sees economic growth of 5.3% this fiscal year

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Monday 02 Mar 2015 - 14:33 Makkah mean time-11-5-1436 Uganda sees economic growth of 5.3% this fiscal year (Google image) Kampala, Uganda (IINA) - Uganda's economic growth is set to accelerate to 5.3 per cent in fiscal 2014/15, driven by infrastructure investment, CNBC Africa news agency reported. This is aimed at maximizing benefits from an expected oil boom, former Finance Minister Maria Kiwanuka said. She was speaking to Reuters before she was moved in a cabinet reshuffle on Sunday to become presidential advisor on finance. Her forecast was the government's first growth estimate for the fiscal year ending in June, after Uganda rebased its gross domestic product in November. In 2013/14, the economy grew 4.5 per cent and Kiwanuka said she expected growth to reach 6 per cent annually in the coming years. "We have an ambitious public infrastructure investment programme covering power, roads. Manufacturing and construction have also picked up again after the effects of the global economic crisis," Kiwanuka told Reuters on Friday for the Reuters Africa Investment Summit. Noteworthy that East Africa's which is considered the third-biggest economy is due to begin oil production in 2018 and Kiwanuka said she expected oil prices would recover and so would not affect long-term investment in the sector. According to the latest central bank data, Uganda's current account deficit widened to $808 million in August-October last year, from $488 million for the three months through July. SM/IINA