The Coalition Government has borrowed $850 million from the time it took office until July 2024, according to Deputy Prime Minister and Minister of Finance and Strategic Planning, National Development and Statistics, Prof Biman Prasad. This information was shared during a parliamentary session following a written inquiry regarding the total loans secured by the Government from December 2022 to July 2024, their utilization, and the distribution of funds between operational costs and capital expenditures.
Prof Prasad indicated that when the government assumed office in December 2022, the national debt was $9.4587 billion. By the conclusion of the fiscal year 2023/2024, the debt rose to $10.3087 billion, reflecting a net borrowing of $850 million attributed entirely to financing capital projects outlined in the budget for FY2022-2023 and FY2023-2024.
He noted that as of July 3, 2024, out of the total government debt of $10 billion, $6.5 billion was sourced from domestic borrowings, while $3.7 billion came from external debt. In July 2021, the total government debt stood at $7 billion, which surpassed $9 billion in both 2022 and 2023.