Dakar - Guinea-Bissau Prime Minister Carlos Gomes Junior on Tuesday barred officials from taking trips abroad and from buying cars costing more than 30 000 euros in a bid to cut state spending.
"No member of the government is currently allowed to leave the country," read a statement from the prime minister.
The measures were taken to comply with the requirement of international donors that government reduce spending and its members curb their flashy lifestyles.
Announcing its first budgetary cuts last week, the government asked that "some missions outside the country be entrusted to ambassadors" and that ministers should get the green light from the state before signing or negotiating agreements.
Guinea-Bissau, one of the world's poorest countries, is wracked by political and military instability. In July it reached an agreement with its creditors from the Paris Club and Brazil to reduce its public debt.
On January 1, 2010, the debt owed to Paris Club creditors by Guinea Bissau was estimated at more than $240-million in nominal value. - Sapa-AFP