BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – PRIME MINISTER the Rt. Hon. Dr. Denzil Douglas said that the measures put in place by his Labour Party administration have resulted in a significant reduction in the national debt.
Dr. Douglas, who is also the Federation’s Finance Minister, made this declaration whilst delivering his Budget in Parliament yesterday (Dec. 10).
He disclosed that the debt owed by the government had been reduced from the figure given at the previous Budget sitting.
“Mr. Speaker, in my last Budget Address I noted that the Total Public Sector Debt for 2012 stood at $2.7 billion. As a percentage of our most recent GDP estimates, that translates to 137 percent of GDP.
“Today, Mr. Speaker, I can report with great pride that as of September 2013 the Total Public Sector Debt was $2.1 billion or 103 percent of GDP.”
Dr. Douglas claimed that the Federation is on course to meet the 2020 target set by the Eastern Caribbean Central Bank (ECCB).
“Mr. Speaker, as you can see, we are well on our way to meeting the ECCB’s target of 60 percent by 2020 and I assure you we will get there. The total debt stock at the end of September 2013 therefore declined by $0.6 million or 21percent from where it stood at the end of December 2012.”
He credited the reduction to the Land for Debt Swap undertaken by his government.
“This significant reduction in the debt stock was primarily the result of the Debt for Land Swap that took place between the Central Government and the St. Kitts-Nevis-Anguilla National Bank at the beginning of July 2013.”
The Finance Minister hailed the achievement of the government and proclaimed the end is nigh.
“This is a major achievement for the government and the country as a whole. The restructuring exercise was long and challenging but we are almost at the end of the road.”
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