Bank of Uganda kicks off household survey on remittances

Thursday, April 21 2011

Bank of Uganda in partnership with the Uganda Bureau of Statics is conducting a household survey that seeks to collect data on money and other items remitted from workers in the diaspora.

In a media notice yesterday BoU said the exercise that is conducted through visiting selected households is purposed at generating the annual balance of payment which is a key input for macroeconomic monitoring and planning.

Remittances are usually received through commercial banks, authorised money transfer agencies and post offices as well as the informal means. The biggest percentages of family members that receive remittances spend them on recurring items like school fees, rent, general upkeep and on their small business.

Uganda has in the last eight years received a large amount of private transfer inflows with the largest portion coming from migrant remittances. Inflows of migrant’s remittances are the second largest contributors of the country’s foreign exchange inflows after exports of goods and have contributed significantly towards offsetting the large deficit on the trade balance.


By Clare Balondemu: The Monitor Newspaper