Auditor General’s Office (AGO) claim Maldives government required MVR30.5 billion to repay public debt in the next four-year duration.
AGO, at the budget research committee of Maldives Parliament, said their research highlights need for a long-term plan for debt repaying and management. The office also identified highest debt repayment will be made on 2025 and 2026.
Maldives government is expected to pay MVR5.5 billion next year as debt repayment, and MVR6.4 billion in the year after. Statistics further confirm government is looking to spend MVR8.9 billion in debt repayment in 2025 and MVR9 billion in 2026. AGO remarked the debt repayment in 2026 has not been a threshold achieved in the past 10 years, and also one of the highest debt repayment amounts government will be spending.
“A large portion of this has to be paid as foreign debt. This requires long-term plans to mitigate refinancing based on interest rates and foreign market risks,” Director of AGO Mr. Mohamed Shaan said.
Maldives government expects to accumulate a debt of MVR113.6 billion by the end of 2023, which translates to 108% of the country’s Gross Domestic Product (GDP).
While the government is aiming to repay debt at comparatively higher thresholds in the following four-year period, state will achieve this through the Sovereign Development Fund (SDF). Meanwhile, Maldives Monetary Authority (MMA) has suggested the government to expedite the approval of legislation to place austerity measures on spending from SDF for other purposes.