[ad_1]
President Ilir Meta in a press conference said that the government must return the debt to Gross Domestic Product as soon as possible to a downward path, or the country will face a serious crisis.
He called on the Assembly and the institutions dealing with this sector, to make public the real debt that the Albanian state has.
“This exit has to do with the ongoing concerns over the years from me as president, regarding the deteriorating debt situation and the lack of transparency regarding its accurate calculation.
The main objective of economic policy should be to return the debt-to-GDP ratio to a downward path as soon as possible, otherwise the level of debt in the coming years will cause a serious crisis, endangering the stability of public finances. Even the budget law for 2022 did not make transparent the real level of debt of 2021, as well as an assessment of all risks and on this basis taking preventive measures to reduce it.
KLSH estimates that the debt stock reported for 2020, which is carried forward to 2021, is underestimated. In the calculation of the debt stock for 2021 all arrears should be presented. The real value of debt at the end of 2021 can be estimated at more than 84% of GDP. This does not include new liabilities, sub-loan liabilities, increasing risk of PPP portfolio with budget support, interest rate risk, which continues to be significant, risk of prolonging the pandemic situation.
PPP projects have allowed the government to undertake new clientelistic investments, with an immediate increase in debt, but there they are, to be paid by the citizens. Financial commitments will affect the sustainability of public finances, increasing fiscal risks. Debt maturity, external debt ratios, the relationship between debt and tax revenue, etc., are very important indicators to assess debt sustainability. “Expenditures on debt interest rates have deteriorated. Albania has the highest level in the region. The debt level has increased in 8 years, over 53%. Debt service has increased from 4.6% to 6.11% in 2020.
The public debt ratio is 2.96% for Albania and 2.47 for Montenegro. So of course it should have been the opposite, we keep getting worse in this regard. Less revenue, fewer opportunities to improve public debt ratio. There is more corruption here. You also saw the recent report that corruption has increased. Even debt to pay off debts is no longer enough! Debt reduction would require reduced economic growth and a serious fight against corruption is required. It would require disapproval of PPPs. Assessing the critical situation in which the public debt has reached, in order to prevent a financial abyss and drama, I ask the Assembly and foreign and domestic financial institutions to make transparency with the debt, of the current and expected level. An analysis of the deterioration of macroeconomic parameters should be made. I hope the actors take the issue of debts more seriously.“, Said Meta.
top channel
[ad_2]
Source link
