Government debt balloons to $2.13 billion

[posted 30 September 2004, 16:00]

Government debt presently stands at $2.13 billion dollars, as indicated by the Auditor-General's report, released this week. 

The sum indicates an increase of over $240 million dollars from the previous years' figure.  The growing debt reveals the inability of the Government to control spiraling costs to be in line with revenue income figures.  

Of the total, approximately $1.8 billion has been borrowed from the Fiji National Provident Fund.  The remaining balance has been borrowed from foreign institutions like the Asian Development Bank, with funds being used for various projects, including infrastructure development.