Uganda, March 21 -- Government spent at least Shs8.3 trillion on debt servicing in the financial year ended June 2023, according to data from the Uganda Revenue Authority (URA).

This, URA notes, was an increase from Shs6.7 trillion spent in the financial year ended June 2022, and more than double the Shs3.7 trillion spent in the 2019/20 financial year.

In the four years to June 2023, the cost of debt servicing has increased by 44.9 percent from Shs3.7 trillion to Shs8.3 trillion, due to an upsurge in public debt, which has risen from Shs57.1 trillion to Shs96.1 trillion ($25.3b), according to data from Ministry of Finance.

In details contained in the 2022/23 URA Annual Data Book, data indicates that the Shs8.3 trillion spent on debt se...