Government: Debt without limit
26/11/2012 00:00
Linda Rama: Between Family, Work and Albania’s Future 18/08 14:30
The majority MPs passed the law that removes the 60% debt limit, after
harsh debates with the opposition at the Parliamentary Commission of
Economy.
“The government finds that the necessary fiscal politics would be a more expansionist one, aiming to stimulate the economic growth. The materialization of this fiscal politics causes a debt of 62.6% of the GDP, and makes it indispensable to amend the debt limit law”, declared Nezir Hajdedaj, Deputy Minister of Finances.
“The public debt is 250.000 ALL for every Albanian resident, and in 2008 it was 316.400. The debt payment in 2008 was 12.248 for every citizen, and today it is 22.642. These figures are frightening”, declared the Socialist MP, Mimi Kodheli.
Besides removing the legal debt limit, the draft includes another much debated article, which gives to the government the right to not include the guarantee money of KESH in the public debt.
“Every year we have an article that allows us to increase the debt limit and the total limit. In fact, there has been exclusion for this law and only for the guarantees that will be given for securing electric power. We cannot give an exact figure for this, and for this reason there’s a law that authorizes the government”, declared the Director of Budget, Mimoza Dhembi.
The law removes to the Parliament the control over the public law by allowing the government to increase it beyond the legal limit in the conditions of an electoral year.
“This precedent should not be allowed at any cost”, declared the Socialist MP, Arben Malaj.
Socialist MP, Erjon Brace, declared that the law sends the debt out of control by endangering the financial stability of Albania.
“It’s unreasonable to pass this law without any debt limit, when the energy crisis will give its effects for two or three other years, and even cause an even worse penalty than today’s debt limit. Think before passing this law, because I’m sure that we will go beyond 70%”, Brace declared.
“The debt is being presented as the worst problem, but the Albanian government had a debt level of 62.5% in 2002, in even worse conditions than today”, declared the Chairman of this commission, Edmond Spaho.
The government calculates that the debt goes to 60.5% of the GDP, while next year it is expected to go at 62.5%.
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