Macedonia is one of the European countries whose debt has increased the least in the past five years. In absolute figures, loans worth € 1.1 billion were taken and loans totaling € 256 million were paid last year. Of all European countries, only Estonia is less indebted than Macedonia. In this crisis period, the fastest growing debt is the one of Europe’s biggest economies: Britain, France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Ekonomski.mk writes.
As a percentage of GDP, Macedonia remains within the low to moderately indebted countries and it is the only way to measure the debt, Finance Minister Zoran Stavreski said in a statement to ekonomski.mk.
“Any professional review of the state debt means that the government debt should be monitored in terms of GDP ratio, because as long as the debt grew, gross domestic product grew as well. As a percentage of GDP, the public debt of the Republic of Macedonia today amounts to 34.3 % and this is much lower than 2005, the last year in which the current opposition was in power. The government debt then amounted to 38.4 %. Compared with this, the current government debt is four percentage points lower, Stavreski said.
Macedonia is the fourth least indebted country in Europe
With debt of 34.3 % of GDP, Macedonia is the fourth least indebted country in Europe, which shows that the country has borrowed less from other countries in the past five to six years.
“We took care about the debt and therefore we are low indebted country, and this was confirmed by many relevant international institutions like the IMF, World Bank and others. These are the facts, everything else is politics. We should be aware that Macedonia is a small country with a relatively low GDP and therefore we should be careful to remain at the current level. I am confident that the projections of the Ministry of Finance for the next period, with a gradual reduction of the budget deficit and careful borrowing for well targeted projects, will maintain this low level of debt”, Stavreski said.
The money realized projects which have improved the lives of citizens
Just as important is the debt amount, it is also important what is achieved with the money from the loans, Stavreski said for ekonomski.mk.
The effects are significant and contribute to improving the lives of citizens. Stavreski said, with the money from the World Bank a number of small projects have been realized, such as streets in Gjorce Petrov, Kocani, Kicevo, bridge in Bosilovo, water supply and sanitation in Vasilevo, new schools in Gazi Baba and Butel, projects important for the local citizens.
Large projects are also realized with the loans. The railway section of Corridor 10 reconstruction began, the railroad building to Bulgaria will begin, and the decades-old problem of water supply in Kavadarci will be solved. Recently new equipment for health care institutions has been purchased, and the construction of the new Clinical Center and the new Stip Clinical Hospital will begin. Many sports facilities have been built in the Macedonian schools where children can play sports. All these projects are necessary for citizens, Stavreski explained.
“Regional and local roads have helped to connect the rural with the urban areas, and the crown will be the construction of highways from Stip to Skopje, and Kicevo to Ohrid, as the first segment in the construction of new highways. These are specific and good projects, which will improve the lives of citizens” Stavreski said.