A former state minister for finance blasted the Government’s plan to increase its short-term debt limit three-fold as “alarming” and, suggesting to Tribune Business the move had resulted from this administration’s spending excesses.
Zhivargo Laing, who held this post during the 2007-2012 Ingraham administration, said major commitment initiated by the former government – such as the New Providence Road Improvement Project and Airport Gateway project – had been funded via long-term loans, meaning that short-term borrowings were unnecessary.
Suggesting that, as a result, the debt limit increase could not have been sparked by that, Mr Laing questioned the message it would send to the likes of the International Monetary Fund (IMF) and Wall Street credit rating agencies – all of whom have been urging the Bahamas to get a handle on its debt/deficit woes.
And, while agreeing that an increase in the short-term debt limit might be warranted, Mr Laing queried why it was not a “one-fold or two-fold increase”, pointing out that the Ingraham administration had avoided doing this despite having to contend with the recession’s peak.
