A tonne of public debt is never made public
New research suggests governments routinely hide their borrowing
How much money has Senegal borrowed? More than previously thought, according to Ousmane Sonko, who became its prime minister in April. At a press conference on September 26th he said the previous government had “lied to the people” by hiding loans worth 10% of GDP, enough to push the country’s public debt to 83% of national income. Since a full audit has not yet been published, it is hard to know what numbers to believe. The IMF, which has a $1.9bn bail-out programme with Senegal, is not pleased.
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This article appeared in the Finance & economics section of the print edition under the headline “Unaccountable accounts”
Finance & economics October 5th 2024
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- A tonne of public debt is never made public
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- The house-price supercycle is just getting going
- Why economic warfare nearly always misses its target
From the October 5th 2024 edition
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