Budget Debate Commences on Tuesday, March 12

The 2024/25 Budget Debate gets under way in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (March 12), with the opening presentation by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke.

He is expected to outline how the Government’s $1.3-trillion expenditure for the upcoming fiscal year will be funded.

At the tabling of the Estimates of Expenditure on February 15, Dr. Clarke explained that contributing to the spend are non-debt recurrent expenditure of $769.9 billion, capital expenditure of $80 billion and debt service of $491.2 billion.

Non-debt recurrent expenditure includes allocations for recurrent programme expenses at $327.8 billion, as well as compensation expenses at $442 billion.

“The compensation allocation includes an estimated amount to conclude the implementation phase of the restructured compensation system during the fiscal year. Wages and salaries are projected to represent 12.6 per cent of GDP in 2024/25, and this is up from 9.2 per cent of GDP in 2019/20,” Dr. Clarke stated.

“It must be noted that the amount budgeted for public-sector compensation for 2024/25 exceeds actual compensation for 2021/22, the year before the compensation restructuring began, by approximately $200 billion. It is obvious that the Government has made a concerted effort to address historical challenges with public-sector compensation, and now it is time to consolidate,” he added.

Opposition Spokesperson on Finance, Julian Robinson, will respond to the Minister’s presentation in his contribution to the Debate on Thursday, March 14, while Leader of the Opposition, Mark Golding, is slated to speak on Tuesday, March 19.

Prime Minister, the Most Hon. Andrew Holness, will make his contribution to the Debate on Thursday, March 21.

Dr. Clarke will conclude the Budget Debate on Tuesday, March 26.