Government's projected borrowing has dropped from $75 million to a "mere $13.5 million," Finance Minister Eugene Cox told Parliamentarians on Wednesday.

And with spending significantly lower than original estimates and revenues marginally higher, the overall financial picture is positive.

At the last sitting of the House of Assembly before it recessed for summer, Mr. Cox gave his Government a thumbs up for what he said was wise financial management, and announced that the overall economic outlook was encouraging.

Government had been severely criticised by the Opposition for its plans to borrow as much as $75 million in order to keep capital projects on line.

"It pleases me to say that Government's prudent and sagacious stewardship of the public purse in difficult times, indeed very arduous times, has reduced the previously planned deficit financing from $75 million to a mere $13.5 million. During the last quarter of 2001, some naysayers were claiming that Government might borrow even more than projected in order to `spend its way out of the recession'," the Minister said.

But the "critics and naysayers" had been "proven wrong yet again".

"History will record the facts of this administration's prudent stewardship of the public purse during difficult economic times and history will record that Moody's Investor's Service and Standard and Poor's both endorsed this Government's policy response by reconfirming our credit ratings as Aa1 and AA respectively at a time when the ratings of some other jurisdictions were either downgraded or put on watch," Mr. Cox continued.

"I can report to this House that Government's current expenditure for 2001/02 was some $24 million below the original appropriation of $570.8 million. Government revenues were some $3 million over the original revenue target of $627 million," he said.

"This positive outcome has led to a higher than projected surplus on current account. Furthermore, because capital spending was also pruned below what was originally projected, Government's carry forward cash position at the end of 2001/02 was above the target. This has had a very beneficial effect on our financing requirements for 2002/03."

Mr. Cox reminded his parliamentary colleagues that Government cut back on spending to mitigate the effects of the September 11 attacks on the United States after an economic and financial review last year.

"You may recall that in October 2001, Government placed a moratorium on non-essential foreign travel, non-essential overtime and non-critical purchases of capital items such as furniture, equipment and vehicles as part of the expenditure restraint initiative," he said.

And he took the opportunity to repeat earlier criticisms of a Mid Ocean News story which claimed that the Government had contracted with the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency to carry out a tax review.

"For the record, Government has not engaged the Canada Customs and Revenue Agency to carry out a tax review. Government has formally requested the newspaper to make a retraction but the editor has not replied. Government deplores this unrepentant breach of a newspaper's obligation to report on the facts."