Martin Luther Oketch

Africa, Uganda

Journalist at Daily Monitor

Featured in: Favicon

monitor.co.ug Favicon

msn.com

allafrica.com Favicon

theeastafrican.co.ke Favicon

thecitizen.co.tz Favicon

ntv.co.ug

kfm.co.ug

dailyvoice.co.za Favicon

htsyndication.com Favicon

ethiopianmonitor.com + 2 more

Articles

How retail banking continues to anchor financial sector incomes

6 days ago | monitor.co.ug | Martin Luther Oketch

When Standard Chartered Group announced in November last year that it was “exploring the potential sale of its wealth and retail banking businesses”, particularly in Uganda, Botswana, and Zambia, the conversation in public was, retail banking had become a drain on on banking operations.
How Quarter 4 money will be shared

2 weeks ago | monitor.co.ug | Martin Luther Oketch

The quarter four expenditure of Shs19.79 trillion for the Financial Year 2024/2025 released yesterday indicates that the Agro Industrialization, Tourism, Minerals, Science, Technology and Innovation (ATMS) are the main winners of the public expenditures because of their potential to drive Uganda’s Ten Fold Growth Strategy.
Why Uganda’s economy grew by 5.3 per cent

2 weeks ago | monitor.co.ug | Martin Luther Oketch

The growth in Uganda’s economy during the second quarter of the 2024/25 Financial Year can be attributed to the combined performance of key sectors: agriculture, services, manufacturing, and taxes, according to the Uganda Bureau of Statistics (Ubos). The country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP) expanded to Shs39.535 trillion, a slight increase from Shs37.604 trillion in the same period of the previous year (2023/24).
A leadership change that has delivered dfcu out of the ‘woods’

2 weeks ago | monitor.co.ug | Martin Luther Oketch

On Tuesday, dfcu managing director Charles Mudiwa referenced a line that was hard to ignore. Dfcu, he said, had come out of the woods and had now regained its high growth trajectory, which would soon deliver it back into Uganda’s top five most profitable banks. He was responding to a question from a journalist who wondered whether dfcu had now regained its growth momentum. "Yes, we (dfcu) have come out of the woods, and we are now focusing on driving the growth of the bank.
Uganda’s debt now rises to Shs107 trillion

3 weeks ago | monitor.co.ug | Martin Luther Oketch

Uganda’s ever-growing public debt has now soared to a staggering Shs106 trillion, the Ministry of Finance has said. The ministry’s quarterly debt statistical bulletin released yesterday in Kampala showed that public debt has over the past year grown by nine percent (by Shs9 trillion). Last year, the public debt stood at $26.56 billion, which was equivalent to Shs96.6 trillion. The ministry attributed this substantial growth in the public debt to increased domestic borrowing in the past year.
Stanbic’s Mumba has his work cut out

4 weeks ago | monitor.co.ug | Martin Luther Oketch

It's barely a month since Zambian Mumba Kalifungwa took over as Stanbic’s managing director, ending almost a year’s search to fill one of the top positions in the banking sector. His arrival almost coincided with the release of the bank’s financial results early this week, which returned excellent performance in the 12 months to December 2024. Of course, Mumba could have had no part in how the bank performed, but the results will be key in his work ahead.
How informal trade is eating into regional revenue collections

1 month ago | monitor.co.ug | Martin Luther Oketch

Uganda is witnessing a rise in informal trade, with exports and imports flowing through eight major border exit points, according to the 2023 Informal Cross-Border Trade report. Informal cross-border trade may refer to trade transactions between residents and non-residents across the economic boundaries of two or more countries that are not officially registered/recorded. Typically, it is proximity trade involving the move of produce between markets close to the border.
Uganda’s export earnings hit Shs3.129b in January-Finance

1 month ago | monitor.co.ug | Martin Luther Oketch

The Ministry of Finance, Planning and Economic Development said in comparison with the same month last year, export earnings in Uganda grew by 50.4 per cent from $571.16 million (about Shs2.080 billion) in January 2024 to $859.22 million (about Shs3.129 billion) in January 2025.
How equities market performed

1 month ago | monitor.co.ug | Martin Luther Oketch

The Uganda Securities Exchange (USE) said that the top gainer in the equity market was dfcu counter, which registered a gain in price of 3.4 percent with its price ranging from Shs230 to Shs238 per share. While there were activities in five counters in the week of March 10 to 14 2025, USE said the notable movement was observed in Quality Chemical Industry Limited (QCIL) registering a price gain of 1.79 percent translating into Shs84 to Shs85.5 per share.
How Bank of Uganda plans to upgrade financial market

1 month ago | monitor.co.ug | Martin Luther Oketch

A robust financial market requires state-of-the-art infrastructure. The Bank of Uganda (BoU) has undertaken several initiatives to modernize and integrate Uganda’s financial systems to become a financial hub in the region. Governor Bank of Uganda, Dr Michael Atingi-Ego says they are in the final stages of enhancing the Central Securities Depository (CSD), which holds $11.5 billion (Shs45 trillion) in government securities.