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Guyana still owes US$170M to five countries …Finance Ministry hopes to strike debt reduction deal
Before the political and constitutional brouhaha that came with the No-Confidence Motion, the Finance Ministry was making moves to put a dent in an approximate US$170M in debt Guyana has accumulated with five countries.
During an interview on Sunday, Finance Minister, Winston Jordan, said that it would be foolhardy not to pursue these efforts due to the perception of some that the government is in caretaker mode. According to advice Cabinet received, Jordan said that this is not the case.
The Minister said, “From my end, we are trying to talk to our creditors in terms of debt reduction because we have about five or six creditors who we have not been able strike a deal with for many years (such as) Kuwait, Argentina, Libya, Arab Emirates and Yugoslavia.
“And so the interest keeps counting. Collectively, I think it is US$170M and it keeps piling up. If you take Kuwait, since the early 70s, we borrowed about US$10M and today, it is about US$80M. We are trying to engage these people to come to a debt reduction agreement. We are to meet one of the creditors soon…”
GUYANA’S FISCAL STANCE
In spite of the expected gains to come from the petroleum sector, the coalition Government has said that it will continue to manage the nation’s debt in a most prudent manner.
Specifically making this point was the Finance Minister during his 2019 budget speech. The economist said that the Government will maintain a moderate risk of debt distress and, in this regard, will undertake not to borrow at rates that could compromise the country’s fiscal stance.
Finance Minister, Winston Jordan
Jordan reminded that the public debt legislation is currently being drafted and is expected to be laid in the House in 2019. He said, too, that the Government will prioritize the crafting of a national debt strategy and an annual borrowing plan, which together, will define the optimal mix of financing mechanisms in the short-to-medium term, for the funding of development initiatives.
In tandem with the aforementioned, the Finance Minister reminded that the Government also published a Public Private Partnership Policy Framework, in 2018. He noted that this presents a structured framework within which the Government can pursue new options of financing that will reduce the need to incur significant debt.
Jordan said that this Framework will guide, in an open and transparent manner, how Government will engage with the private sector in the provision of public goods for mutual benefit.
Jordan said that the Government is preparing a roadmap to develop the country’s institutional, technical, financial, environmental and business expertise to engage private sector partners. In Budget 2019, he said that the Government has allocated $100 million to support this initiative.
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