Finance Minister Winston Jordan on Thursday admitted that the US$1.6 billion figure he had said was the external public debt was incorrect and that the figure actually stands at US$1.2 billon, with the domestic debt standing at US$0.4 billion.
Jordan, who had quoted the figure on June 26th in the National Assembly, used the same forum to apologise for his earlier mistake and “for the erroneous impression created.”
He said it was on his return from Venezuela to Guyana that he was informed that the figure he quoted was incorrect and he then re-checked the numbers and found that it is the public debt, comprising the external debt and the domestic debt, which stands at US$1.6 billion.
Former Minister of Finance Dr Ashni Singh, in a letter to the editor, had challenged Jordan on the figure and invited him to publicly make available disaggregated details on the US$1.6 billion figure he had quoted.
“Alternatively, he might wish to consider issuing an appropriate correction, including in the National Assembly where his statement was originally made. He might also wish to consider examining more closely the accuracy of other aspects of what he is reported to have said in the same article and address them similarly,” the former minister had written.
