The government of Guinea-Bissau announced this Friday that the 2023 budget has a deficit of almost 69 billion CFA francs (105 million euros), according to a proposal that will be sent to parliament.
The Platform for Inclusive Alliance (PAI) and Terra Ranca coalition took office in August and has now finalized a general government budget proposal for 2023, retroactive to the start of the year.
The proposal was approved by the Council of Ministers on Thursday and will go to the National People’s Assembly, where the government coalition led by the African Party for the Independence of Guinea and Cape Verde has a majority.
According to the statement of the Council of Ministers, circulated this Friday in the editorial offices, the draft law on the general state budget for 2023 provides for total revenues of 339.974 million CFA francs (518 million euros) and “expenditures of the same amount.”
According to the government, in 2023 the deficit will be 68.893 million CFA francs (105 million euros).
Guinea-Bissau’s Minister of Economy and Finance Souleymane Seide announced on September 13 that the country’s public account has a deficit close to 30%, with a worsening trend for the rest of the year as a result of measures to reduce the cost of living.
According to the official, the country’s total debt is “about 900 billion CFA (more than 1,300 million euros), equivalent to a deficit close to 30% of GDP.
The size of the deficit is almost ten times higher than the target agreed with the International Monetary Fund (IMF), which is implementing an extended credit program in Guinea-Bissau worth $38 million (€36 million), equivalent to CFA 23.6 billion. francs, for a period of 36 months and an expected completion date of January 2026.
Since January, the program has received three consecutive positive assessments from the IMF, the most recent of which ended with the October 2 announcement of another tranche of $8.1 million (€7.7 million) for the country.
Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
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