Economist Weighs In On G.D.P. Rate

Carlos Magana

But while C.E.O. Martinez and the S.I.B. statistics present one figure, Economist, Carlos Magana raises questions as to whether that percentage was arrived at perhaps because some elements were eliminated.

Carlos Magana, Economist

“It all depends on the formula that was used, the model that was taken into consideration to be able to classify what are the loans that the government has, what is the debt that the government has. When you classify all these, I can almost imagine that certain types of debts were reclassified and by doing so, then they are removed from certain values and therefore when you work the ratio, it is going to give you a lower G.D.P. to debt. I don’t know how the Blue Bond was incorporated into the model. It has to do a lot. At this time I am blind by statistics. I can only assume that these were taken into consideration. It is no longer considered a day-to-day debt because it has been readjusted, it has been refinanced into a different way in terms of dealing with that volume of money. So automatically it is going to reduce. Is it wrong? No, it is not wrong, but what we need to know is how was it incorporated. Eighty-eight – for me, I feel happy. As a Belizean, I am telling you as an economist, I am telling you I feel happy. Now, policy – government monitoring and fiscal policy need to be very keen, especially the fiscal policy, so that we do not start to build up again on our debt ratio.”