Macedonia will add 1.5 billion EUR in new debt only this year, and it will reach a staggering 66 percent of GDP at 8.5 billion EUR, said the opposition VMRO-DPMNE party in a press release. The statement is to respond to Finance Minister FatmirBesimi, who was boasting about paying off the final tranche of a 2014 bond issue worth 500 million EUR.
However, what is even more worrying is that the same Besimi, in accordance with the adopted Public Debt Management Strategy 2022-2026, plans next year the public debt to reach a staggering 8.5 billion euros or almost 66% of GDP. This is 6 percentage points more than the limit provided by the Maastricht criterion. This year, the Ministry of Finance plans the public debt to reach 64%, and the next as much as 66%. This means that every family of four in the country will owe 17,000 euros.
The most worrying thing is where that money goes. It certainly does not go to roads, schools, hospitals and other infrastructure. Capital investments for seven months, i.e. more than half a year are about 30%. At the same time, the draft-supplementary budget increases the funds for temporary employment, furniture and vehicles. So the funds that we borrow now and that our children and grandchildren will pay in the future, are spent on party employment and luxuries of government officials., says VMRO-DPMNE.
