- IDA lends the Ugandan government $331.5 million
- The loan will support the EASP, which aims to expand access to electricity nationwide.
The Parliament has now given the Ugandan government permission to borrow $331 million from the World Bank to expand universal access to electricity.
The International Development Association of the World Bank Group has agreed to lend the government up to $331.5 million in exchange for a grant of $276.5 million, which has been approved by parliament. The loan will be used to support the Power Access Scale Up Project (EASP), which aims to expand access to electricity across the country.
The EASP anticipates a rise in access to energy from 19% to 44% by 2027, according to Minister of State for Planning Amos Lugoloobi, who presented the loan request to parliament. By 2027, Lugoloobi noted, it is anticipated that the loan will result in a 40% rise in the proportion of clean energy used for cooking.
He believes the initiative will be equitable because it will benefit underprivileged neighbourhoods. “The project will benefit households, commercial enterprises, industrial parks, and public institutions. It will support refugees and host communities and women,” Lugoloobi said.
The loan proposal was processed without opposition in committee and plenary, which MPs attributed to the project’s equity.
John Bosco Okojo, chair of the Committee on National Economy, delivered the report for the loan.
Anita Among, the Speaker of the House, urged the government to reinstall REA, whose performance she deemed admirable. “I also want to agree with the LoP on the issue of REA. Give us back our REA, the management could have been bad, but you can get other management. REA did a good job and had success stories,” said Among.