Minister for Economy, Aiyaz Sayed-Khaiyum says total government debt is projected to increase to $8.3 billion by July this year and the total gross borrowing for the 2020/2021 financial year is $2.75 billion.
Sayed-Khaiyum has revealed in parliament that $1.4 billion is to be sourced externally, $940 million to be borrowed from the domestic market and the government is also utilising $400 million cash balance carried over which was accumulated from the refinancing of the global bond.
He says a total of $530 million in overseas loans has been taken from the ADB and Asian Infrastructure and Investment Bank in the first 6 months of the current financial year.
Sayed-Khaiyum says currently $710 milllion in external financing is being finalised by the World Bank, ADB and JICA. He says the draw down of these funds is likely in the coming months.
The Minister for Economy says the government has already raised $193.8 million from the domestic market for the first six months of the financial year
He further says that while the government has noted some tightening in the domestic market, higher than budgeted revenue and potential expenditure savings will mitigate this.
Government debt stood at around $6.875 billion - domestic debt stands at $5.095 billion while external debt is $1.78 billion. Contingent liabilities stand at $1.45 billion.
The total debt is expected to reach $8.3 billion by the end of the current financial year.
Sayed-Khaiyum also says the Cyclone Winston rebuild drove up expenditure and Fiji has gone through 13 cyclones since 2016. He says the impact of the COVID-19 crisis is further reaching than any cyclone or 13 cyclones.
Sayed-Khaiyum hopes these figures are not turned into a political football by the usual suspects and the economy’s revival is a critical priority in the government’s agenda. He says that is why they are advocating so forcefully to secure the COVID-19 vaccines now and roll them out as quickly as they can.
