Economy stable, national debt sustainable: minister
Dr Mpango said in November last year, a debt sustainability analysis was conducted according to the law and showed that the present value of public debt against the GDP was 34 per cent, while its limit was 56 per cent. “This tells you that our national debt is sustainable whether in short, medium or long-term.”
What you need to know:
According to Dr Mpango, the national debt grew by three per cent in the second half of last year from $18.4 billion in June to $19 billion in December last year.
Dodoma. The minister for Finance and Planning, Dr Philip Mpango, yesterday assured the Parliament that all indicators showed the country’s economy was stable and the national debt was sustainable.
According to Dr Mpango, the national debt grew by three per cent in the second half of last year from $18.4 billion in June to $19 billion in December last year.
The minister told the House that the debt was not alarming as others might had suggested and its clearance didn’t take into account the entire stock of the debt, but maturity and currently the average time to mature was 11 years and nine months. “This means, the debt doesn’t pose any stumbling-block to our plans and budget. Technically speaking our debt has low refinance risk.”
He said at the same time (July-December 2016) the government paid Sh2.5 trillion to matured debts, out of which Sh1.8 trillion was used to clear internal debts and Sh747 billion for external debts, and insisted the government would continue honouring its legal commitment of paying all of its debts, when matured.
Dr Mpango said in November last year, a debt sustainability analysis was conducted according to the law and showed that the present value of public debt against the GDP was 34 per cent, while its limit was 56 per cent. “This tells you that our national debt is sustainable whether in short, medium or long-term.”
According to the minister, to insure there is transparency and accountability, the office of Controller and Auditor General is at final stages of a special audit on the national debt.
On the economic outlook, Dr Mpango said all was well contrary to the “rumours circulated on the streets”. He said all indicators showed the economy was going strong and the January 2017 report by International Monetary Fund showed that. “Yes, we have our challengers, including weakening of our shilling against the dollar, but that the Bank of Tanzania (BoT) is doing a great job in ensuring that our currency stabilizes,” said Dr Mpango.
