Government has taken decision to approve acquisition loans from the International Development Association (IDA) of World Bank with the aim of improving service delivery through the Uganda Inter Governmental Fiscal Transfers (UFIFT) program.
Decision to approve the loans was on Nov. 23 taken during a Cabinet meeting at State House Entebbe.
The loans will mainly be channeled to the education and health sectors of the economy in the coming years. In the education sector, the money will be channeled to the construction of a multi-purpose hall and two additional classroom blocks for all the 232 Seed Secondary schools that were planned for UGIFT before 2016. Another area will be to equip ICT laboratories and Science laboratories with instructional, learning and laboratory equipment, according to Mulengera publications.
“More money will be used in the construction of 27 Seed Secondary schools that were approved before 2016 and also constructing and equipping 418 laboratories in existing secondary schools without functional laboratories,” a statement from cabinet reveals. More funding will be injected in the completion of incomplete structures in 21 technical schools and polytechnics and rehabilitation of existing dilapidated Government owned secondary schools.
Government will also roll out the Teachers Effectiveness and Learners System. The money to the health sector will help in the construction of twin staff houses to accommodate medics in the upgraded health centre IIIs at sub counties on top of equipping all newly upgraded 285 health centre IIIs to the standard health Centre IIIs.
“Government will construct 134 health centre IIIs in 134 sub counties and also rehabilitate all infrastructure in sorry state in existing Health Centre IIIs,” it added. Cabinet also approved financing from IDA to finance the Uganda Secondary Education Expansion project that will enhance access to lower secondary education by putting more emphasis on under-served populations in areas hosting refugees and other communities with limited access to public lower secondary schools in 96 districts with low enrollment rates and high demand for lower secondary education.
The cabinet also approved the proposal to finance the refurbishment of the Kampala-Malaba Meter Gauge Railway project to accelerate Uganda’s competitiveness by providing efficient freight and passenger services to the country.
