Finance Ministry Sets Up Unit to Tackle Poor Loan Absorption

The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development has established a Project Execution Unit to strengthen implementation of loan-funded projects and ensure that borrowed funds deliver the intended results. This was revealed before the Committee on National Economy on Tuesday, 11 August 2026, where the Minister, Hon. Henry Musasizi, led a team of technical officers to present the ministry’s report on public debt, grants, guarantees and other financial liabilities. The move comes amid persistent concerns from members over low utilisation and absorption of borrowed funds, which they say undermines the intended benefits of loans while increasing the country’s debt burden. The Ag. Commissioner for Development Assistance and Regional Cooperation Department, Juvenal Muhumuza, said the Project Execution Unit will closely monitor implementation of projects and ensure that challenges affecting their performance are addressed. “The unit will follow up issues affecting project performance on a regular basis and flag them to management for action,” said Muhumuza, who represented the Permanent Secretary. Muhumuza also revealed that the ministry has tightened management of counterpart fun