Treasurer dismisses claim

TREASURER Ian Ling-Stuckey says the international community had offered poorer countries a debt-repayment holiday because of the Covid-19 pandemic.
He was responding to a statement this week by former prime minister Peter O’Neill accusing the Government of “begging the Paris Club of creditor nations to suspend PNG’s debt service obligations” which could “further downgrade PNG’s credit ratings”.
Ling-Stuckey explained that the debt-repayment holiday through the Paris Club was strongly supported by the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund (IMF).
“They get this debt repayment holiday by writing to the Paris Club,” he said.
“These countries are our friends.
“They have offered to help with the support of the largest economies in the world, the G20. We can now stand with pride on the economic record we are creating.”
The Paris Club is a group of officers from major creditor countries whose role is to find co-ordinated and sustainable solutions to the payment difficulties experienced by debtor counties.
Ling-Stuckey said it was part of a global effort put together by friends to help poorer countries because of the global pandemic and the damage to the world economy.
He dismissed claims that the request stopped access to commercial loans.
“This is just not true. There are ignorant people leaking information who do not understand the terms of the Paris Club application.
“We can borrow up to K1,200 million in commercial funding in 2020 because this was part of the IMF staff monitored programme,” he said.
Ling-Stuckey said the potential cash saving to PNG in 2020 would be K120 million – made up of K67mil from China, K26mil from Japan, K25mil from Australia and K2mil from Germany.