While Government projects “turning the corner” with revenue shortfalls towards the end of the 2018 fiscal year, it is still operating with difficulty— to the extent that last Friday there was only enough money in its Central Bank overdraft to run T&T for two days, Finance Minister Colm Imbert has said.
Imbert made the points in last Friday’s parliamentary debate on a finance bill which seeks to implement measures in the 2018 budget.
Among measures, he said, Government was moving to increase overdraft limits by 15 to 20 per cent and will also use revolving Treasury Bills to ensure it has adequate funds to meet commitments ranging from salaries to social benefits.
The first measure will be done this week.
“ Given the likelihood of shortfalls in revenue streams in the short term—‘because we do expect to turn the corner towards the end of this fiscal year —it’s imperative for Government to have the option to meet any cash flow constraint that many arise in a timely manner,” he explained.
Imbert said Government has been working very close to the allowable limits of the overdraft “virtually daily since September 2015.”
He said on entering office in 2015, the then Central Bank governor informed him of the overdraft problems and that there was only enough money to run T&T for two days then.
Imbert said permanent overdrafts came into being from 2012.
Imbert added: “So from September 2015 we’ve been operating the overdraft limit very close to maximum virtually every day , it’s very, very, very challenging. The situation has caused a paradigm shift for all.”
“For example, some nurses recently got paid a day late as we were so close to overdraft, we had to adjust (funding) releases for the Health Ministry and ensure credit arrangements and Treasury and Central Bank aspects for nurses’ cheques to be honoured,”
“This morning (last Friday) when I checked, the overdraft limit was 97 per cent so we only had three per cent left in Central Bank overdraft—that was enough to run T&T for two days.
“The overdraft has reached as high as 99 per cent also; we had to stop writing Government cheques at one point, but we managed with contribution from the Heritage and Stabilisation Fund,”
He said Cabinet two years ago had approved extending overdraft limits to 15 to 20 per cent and this will now be implemented in order to meet commitments from salaries and wages to pensions and other benefits.
Also, he said Commonwealth Debt Management consultants recently advised Government to use revolving short-term Treasury bonds to cope with the situation and manage government operations.
Such bonds carry lower interest rates—from 1.75 per cent—than the overdraft which carries a 4.75 per cent interest rate.
“We can save $240million on an $8 billion overdraft,”he added.