Section 10: Management of public sector debt

10. Management of public sector debt (1) The Ministry shall be responsible for the policy framework and strategy governing the management of public sector debt and ensuring that the public sector debt is properly managed in accordance with that policy, and in particular, the Ministry shall— (a) be guided by the need to— (i) finance the debt at the least possible cost, consistent with prudent level of risk and the Ministry’s fiscal policy objectives; and (ii) develop, to the extent that market conditions, prudence and policy goals permit, a viable interest rate curve for Government borrowing, using, as appropriate, benchmark issues to help track the prevailing costs of short, medium and long-term financing; (b) maintain the official register of the stock of public sector debt; (c) study and analyse public sector debt structure, debt repayment and debt restructuring and any other matter relating to public sector debt; and (d) monitor public sector debt ceiling referred to in section 7 and guarantees by Government under section 8. (2) The Ministry shall, for the purpose of this section, set up and maintain an electronic monitoring system to receive electronic information relating to public sector debt, from the general government and public enterprises. (3) The electronic information referred to in subsection (2) shall include a 3-fiscal year financing plans and debt projections, updated annually or as required and a quarterly report of actual debt stock shall be made public. (Subsec. (3) came into operation on 1 July 2009.) (4) Every supervising officer or chief executive officer of general Government and public enterprises shall, for the purpose of subsections (2) and (3), submit to the Ministry— (a) not later than 15 days after the end of every quarter, debt data in respect of the quarter; and (b) not later than 31 March in every year, a 3-fiscal year financing plan and debt projections, through the electronic monitoring system referred to in subsection (2). [S. 10 amended by s. 13 (b) of Act 10 of 2010 w.e.f. 31 March 2011; s. 23 (b) of Act 38 of 2011 w.e.f. 15 December 2011; s. 42 (d) of Act 9 of 2015 w.e.f. 14 May 2015.]