Senior Finance Minister, Dr. Ashni Singh revealed on Monday that the government intends to approach the National Assembly within the coming weeks for a third increase in the domestic and external debt ceilings.
During the presentation of the $1.146 trillion budget for 2024, he said this move will provide the flexibility needed to optimize the financing mix required to support the administration’s spending plans.
Readers would recall that in February of 2021, the government had increased the external debt ceiling from $400B to $650B. Meanwhile, the domestic debt ceiling moved from $150B to $500B.
Guyana’s domestic and external borrowing capacity was subsequently increased to $750B and $900B, respectively, last year August.
While Minister Singh noted government’s plans to increase the debt ceiling, he was keen to note that public debt remains at a sustainable rate.
At the end of 2023, Minister Singh said total Public and Publicly Guaranteed (PPG) debt stood at US$4.5 billion. While this is an increase of 23.4 percent from the position at the end of 2022, he said it is on account of new external and domestic borrowing. Be that as it may, Minister Singh said, “Guyana continues to maintain one of the lowest ratios of total PPG debt-to-GDP in the Caribbean Region.” In fact, Minister Singh said Guyana’s total PPG debt-to-GDP was 27 percent at the end of 2023.
“This sustainable level of total PPG debt reflects the Government’s effective debt management practices which have contributed to a steady decline in the country’s debt ratios over a sustained period,” the official said.
