Minister Jordan clarifies, public debt, not external debt which stands at $US1.6B
Written by Gina Webmasters, Published in News, Georgetown, GINA, July 9, 2015, Source
Finance Minister Winston Jordan today clarified that it is the external and internal debt that is US1.6B and not the external debt alone, as he had previously reported to the National Assembly.
On June 26, 2015, the Finance Minister had reported to the House that the external debt had risen to US$1.6B. He had stated that the domestic debt had increased, though he did not state a figure.
“I apologise to this honourable House for the earlier mistake and for the erroneous impression created,” Minister Jordan told the House today. He explained that having rechecked the numbers, he can now inform the House that it is the Public Debt, comprising the external and domestic debts, which stands at US$1.6B. The external debt is US$1.2B and the domestic debt is US$0.4B.
Former Minister of Finance Dr. Ashni Singh had publicly challenged the Minister’s earlier statement.