T&T borrowing $13B to fund defiicit

Finance Minister Karen Nunez Tesheira has told the Senate said the government of Trinidad and Tobago has borrowed more than $8.8 billion since January 2007, and there are plans to borrow $4.77 billion more in the new fiscal year.

The total borrowing is to finance the budget deficit, pay for several large government projects and to fund the government’s "money supply management strategy" for the economy, she said.

Nunez Tesheira was responding to a question by the Opposition during private members' day in the Senate.

She explained that her ministry is developing a plan for Trinidad and Tobago’s borrowing requirements for the next three to five years beyond the current fiscal period.

The loans from January 2007 to the end of March 2009 came from domestic capital markets and international sources. The government also borrowed through bond issues.

She also revealed that the government has borrowed US$15 million and $17M Australian dollars to buy six fast patrol crafts.