Finance Ministry forecast envisages public debt at 48% of GDP in 2004

Diminishing revenues from privatization will force the government into signi ficantly increasing public debt, a Finance Ministry forecast has concluded. Such is the seriousness of the situation that by 2004, the public debt could be as high as zl.430 billion, or 48% of Poland's GDP. This in turn may resul t in higher interest rates. The situation is aggravated by the fact that not hing is yet known about this year's planned spending cuts of zl.6 billion to zl.8 billion. The Finance Ministry report says it is clear, however, that th e zl.18 billion influx into the Treasury from privatization this year is wis hful thinking. Next year the public debt burden on the budget will be zl.27 billion, which is zl.5 billion more than in 2001. (Prawo i Gospodarka, p. 3) J.K.