Uganda plans to cut its overall spending in the 2026/27 (July-June) financial year by 4.1% and will reduce its domestic debt issuance to trim interest payments, a Ministry of Finance document published on Wednesday showed.

The East African country projects its public spending in the 12 months starting in July at 69.4-trillion Ugandan shillings ($19.9-billion), down from 72.4-trillion in the previous period.

During the next financial year the government will prioritise completion of the planned East African Crude Oil Pipeline (EACOP) to enable commencement of crude oil production, the Finance Ministry said.

Spending will also be funnelled towards completion of mineral quantification for iron ore, gold and copper deposits and development of a refinery and the ongoing standard gauge railway project.

Planned domestic borrowing via Treasury bills and bonds in the next financial year is projected at 9-trillion shillings, down 21.1% from the previous period.

The reduction, the paper added, is on account of a "need to maintain debt in sustainable levels, the need to reduce interest payments relative to revenues".