Nov 04 - GSD Says Picardo Is “Being Totally Inconsistent On Debt”
The GSD says it notes the lengthy response by the Government to its criticism that it is spending money as if there is no tomorrow funded by huge direct and indirect public debt, which the party says is “just simply intended to confuse people.”
The issue is very simple, according to the GSD; in 2011 when net public debt was less than it is today in monetary terms and the same as a proportion of the size of the economy, Mr Picardo said the GSD was “addicted to debt” and that Gibraltar’s debt was dangerously high. Today, says the Opposition, he says net debt is “prudential.” Was he therefore misleading the people of Gibraltar in 2011 or is he misleading the people of Gibraltar today, asks the GSD.
In any event, says the GSD, none of this takes into account the £430 million of savers' money in Credit Finance Company Limited, which the Government continues to use, the party says, as an “unaccountable credit card”. This additional feature was not present in 2011 and it is not surprising, according to the GSD, that Mr Picardo “continues to be so reluctant to be open and transparent about it, to the extent that he will not tell us who that company is providing loans to, including loans to allow people and companies to pay off their arrears (including import duty) to Government.”
