Finance Minister, Winston Jordan has in recent weeks, signed off on several multimillion dollar loan agreements with various nations. While these loans will go a long way in supporting the Government’s development plan, several financial minds are worried about what this would mean for the state of the country’s public debt.
Earlier today, Minister of State Joseph Harmon said that there is no reason for anyone to worry. He assured that Minister Jordan is quite competent in managing these loans. At his post-Cabinet press briefing said, “…Our minister is a very careful person and he will not sign any agreement or sign any document which adds to our public debt without some form of an action plan on how we are going to deal with it.”
Minister Harmon also stressed that every loan agreement is assessed for its soundness and is discussed at Cabinet.
On September 22, Guyana signed two agreements with China for the upgrading of education and health networks, and funding for the Public Service College. The loan amounts to about $7.9Billion (US$38Million).
Additionally, on September 19, an agreement was signed Jeddah, Saudi Arabia between Minister of Finance Winston Jordan and the Islamic Development Bank’s (IsDB) Vice President of Sector Operations, Mansur Muhtar. This agreement will support the improvement of the country’s power supply through the Guyana Power and Light Incorporated (GPL). The $4.2Billion (US$20Million) loan is part of the utility company’s Upgrade Programme, a component of its development and Expansion Programme for 2014 to 2021.
