Africa-Press – Eswatini. The African Development Bank (AfDB) has projected the country’s public debt-to-gross domestic product (GDP) ratio to decline to 38 per cent in 2024.
Inasmuch as this projections show a decline, the country’s public debt to GDP ratio shows that the country might, even in 2024, not reach the recommended threshold of 35 per cent. Meanwhile, the latest data from the International Monetary Fund (IMF) indicates that the Kingdom of Eswatini ranked number seven in the top 10 countries with the lowest debts to the IMF. According to the latest data captured on December 6, Eswatini owes at least SDR78 500 000 ($110 400 000) which is E1 956 478 936.07.
IMF is a major actor in global finance, providing financial support to States experiencing economic problems. In a recent interview with this publication, Communications Officer in the Ministry of Finance Setsabile Dlamini said the country was able to pay its debt obligations and was working on reducing the debts to reach the recommended threshold.
Equivalent
According to the Recent Economic Development (RED) report issued by the Central Bank of Eswatini (CBE) for October/November 2023, as at end November 2023, total public debt stood at E34.4 billion, which is equivalent to 40.5 per cent of the GDP. This shows that total public debt grew by 1.7 per cent in the month under review. The increase was reportedly due to developments in the domestic debt portfolio. As at end November 2023, public external debt was recorded at E16.2 billion, an equivalent of 19.1 per cent of GDP. This shows that external debt remained constant in the month under review.
Public domestic debt stood at E18.2 billion an equivalent of 21.4 per cent of GDP as at end November 2023. In the month under review, domestic debt grew by 3.5 per cent when compared to E17.6 billion recorded in October 2023. The increase was mainly driven by a slight improvement in Treasury Bills performance as well as an additional CBE advance of E470 million extended to government. These stats show that the country’s debts were above the recommended threshold of 35 per cent of GDP.
For More News And Analysis About Eswatini Follow Africa-Press
