The Barbadian government will generate a smaller budget deficit than it anticipated earlier this year, but the country still faces an “unsustainable” level of public debt, the country’s finance minister said.
Chris Sinckler, the country’s minister of finance and economic affairs, announced in the country’s 2011 budget address that he expects Barbados’ Gross Domestic Product to grow between two and 2.5 percent in 2011. Earlier this year the country anticipated generating a deficit equivalent to 6.8 percent of GDP. In light of recent efforts to cut public servants’ salaries, better manage capital projects and reduce overall spending, the deficit is now expected to be 5.2 percent of GDP in 2011/2012, he said.
But the country faces an “unsustainable” debt burden and is currently borrowing money just to pay the interest on previous borrowing, he said.
See the Aug. 25, 2011 edition for full coverage.