Prime Minister Gaston Browne has cited data from the Financial Secretary’s office showing that government debt to the Antigua and Barbuda Social Security Board increased by about $172 million during the United Progressive Party (UPP) administration.

Speaking on the Browne and Browne Show on Pointe FM, Browne referred to an official document prepared by the Director of Social Security and the Financial Secretary titled “Government Indebtedness 2004 to Present.”

According to figures read on air, the debt stood at $366 million in 2003 at the end of the Antigua Labour Party administration and climbed to $538 million by 2013 under the UPP government — a rise of approximately $172 million. “By the end of 2013, the amount due to Social Security was $538 million,” Browne said. “It started at 366, so that tells you it increased.”

Browne said the data refuted former Finance Minister Harold Lovell’s claim that the UPP never borrowed from the Social Security Board. He argued that failure to make required contributions amounted to a form of borrowing.

“You didn’t borrow, but you did not pay your contribution,” Browne said. “It’s a form of borrowing, because what you’re doing is getting funded by the arrears.”

He added that since taking office, his administration has reduced the debt through regular payments and a pending asset swap involving the Jolly Beach property, which is expected to further lower the government’s outstanding liability.

The figures from the Financial Secretary’s report were used by Browne to illustrate what he described as the difference between “debt creation and debt resolution,” as he defended his government’s record of bringing the Social Security scheme closer to financial stability.