2018/19 Budget Communication 2018_2019 BUDGET COMMUNICATION | Page 12

sharply lower deficits, eventual balanced budgets and a
reduced burden of Government debt. We simply cannot
continue the irresponsible practice of piling one yearly
deficit on another and further deepening the debt hole of the
nation. The unrelenting and damaging deficit and debt spiral
must be arrested. Otherwise interest payments will absorb
ever-increasing shares of our revenue dollars, thereby further
constraining
our
ability
to
fund
the
much-needed
programmes, services and public infrastructure that our
citizens expect from their Government. Going forward, we
must articulate and commit to a fiscal framework that caps
the size of government to manageable limits to avoid an
unchecked growth in Government spending that could over
time undermine the economic viability of the country.
I was, therefore, unequivocal in last year’s Budget
Communication that we would be judicious and fiscally
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