Uganda Domestic Debt Soars as Anti-Gay Law Curbs Foreign Lending

Uganda’s reliance on domestic debt ballooned after stringent anti-LGBTQI laws restricted the East African nation’s access to low-cost funding from abroad.

Public debt jumped by 26% in the financial year that ended in June to $32.3 billion after domestic obligations rose by 53% to $16.8 billion, Ministry of Finance data shows, vastly outstripping the 6% growth in the stock of foreign loans over the same period to $15.5 billion. Large loans from commercial lenders have also been announced in recent weeks.