Games with debt numbers

Berisha, nga premtimi për ulje, tek mosrritja
On November 3rd of the past year, the government approved the fiscal macro-economic plan. In an official document, approved with decision no.1074 of the Council of Ministers, the government voted the debt decrease to 54% of the GDP until 2013. The document was sent to the European Commission during the annual report. But only three months later, the government reviewed the plan and changed the debt decrease promise from 54% to 57.8% until the end of 2013.

The government failed to maintain its word not only with IMF and the World Bank, but also with International Investors. IMF warned that this could bring other additional costs, when the government will be asking other debts in the international market. The interest that the budget pays for the loans taken by the government have been strongly increased in the last years, what obliges the government to take money from other sectors of the budget.

The current debt level of 59.4% of the GDP is considered as dangerous by IMF, the World Bank and Bank of Albania, saying that it threatens the financial stability of the country and that it could suffocate the economic growth. After all, the government would surely want to decrease the debt, because they would earn points with the public and would also be able to increase wages, pensions and public investments. But this is not happening. The debt is not under control, as it used to be three or four years ago, when it was constantly decreasing. There could be two reasons for this: either the government is facing hard times, or it lacks of the good will for realizing it.

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