PAICV points to internal indebtedness and the problem of guarantees as the country's main concern

Praia, May 16 (Inforpress) - The PAICV today pointed to domestic indebtedness and the problem of guarantees and sureties as the main concerns of the Public Finance Council in the report published for the year 2023.

‘The concern is mainly about domestic debt, which rose from 24.5 per cent (%) in 2014 to 35.4 per cent of GDP in 2023. Between 2022 and 2023, this debt increased significantly, reaching 40.3 per cent, revealing growing pressure on the public budget, reducing the government's room for manoeuvre to invest in public policies and respond to economic shocks,' said the secretary general of the PAICV, Julião Varela, at a press conference.

Julião Varela also explained that, from 2014 to 2023, public sector debt has increased significantly, rising from 179 billion escudos in 2014 to a peak of around 373,533 million escudos in 2022, emphasising, on the other hand, that the country, in this chapter, has debts and not investment.

He also said that the published report contains a range of information that helps to review the governance strategy, the government's failures and the major challenges the country is facing, with economic growth falling from 17.7 per cent in 2022 to 5.1 per cent in 2023, a drop of 12.6 per cent.

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