Dr. Peter Salomon Lwabi from UHI (center right)
Winning hearts and minds UGANDA
Ketty Lamaro, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Sports
H atem El Bakkali, OPEC Fund Senior Country Manager, visited Uganda to appraise a new line of credit for small and medium- sized enterprises (SMEs) via a long-standing partner, the Uganda Development Bank (UDB). UDB lends on preferential terms to SME borrowers in strategic sectors including agriculture, agribusiness, manufacturing, hospitality, health, education and infrastructure. The kick-o ff meeting at the Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development with Maris Manyera, Director for Debt and Cash Policy, provided an opportunity to review
overall collaboration and individual project progress. It also o ff ered a chance to discuss funding priorities under Uganda’s National Development Plan. Mr. El Bakkali subsequently met the executing agencies of portfolio projects and discussed bottlenecks to smooth implementation. On the agenda were the National Oil Seeds Development project, the Vocational Education project, the Uganda Heart Institute (UHI) project, and two ongoing road operations with the Uganda National Road Authority. Further discussions were held with the teams of Patricia Ojangole, UDB
Managing Director; Ben Kumumanya, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government; Ketty Lamaro, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Education and Sports; Samuel Muhoozi, Director for Roads and Bridges Development – UNRA; and Peter Salomon Lwabi from UHI. To date, the OPEC Fund has approved more than US$250 million in public sector loans in Uganda covering a wide range of projects from infrastructure to health and from to agriculture to education. The OPEC Fund has also provided trade financing and supported Uganda with numerous grants.
Maris Manyera (center), Director for Debt and Cash Policy
Ben Kumumanya, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Local Government 52
PHOTOS: OPEC Fund/Hatem El Bakkali
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