Finance Minister Highlights Importance Of Digitisation

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, says Jamaica must be digitised, as indicated by the Government’s $20-billion CARE Programme, which benefited more than 440,000 persons.

He said while the system was not perfect, it ensured that despite the crisis brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, within weeks the programme was conceptualised and launched, and benefits delivered to persons who met the established criteria.

“Digital means of processing and delivery offer the opportunity for quick, efficient, rule-based, and scalable programmes,” the Minister said, while opening the 2021/2022 Budget Debate in the House of Representatives on March 9.

He emphasised that Members of Parliament and Councillors have a “legitimate and important” role to play in “assisting the citizen” to navigate the State bureaucracy to access benefits offered by the Government.

“Openness and transparency in the use of public resources, and open, transparent and equitable processes for the distribution of resources of the State, ultimately empower the State to do more for the people. It is a virtuous cycle,” Dr. Clarke said.

The Minister said part of efforts to mitigate the COVID-19 crisis is to ensure tax breaks for businesses and consumers, such as the reduction from 16.5 per cent to 15 per cent on the General Consumption Tax (GCT), which returned $14 billion to the consuming public.

He reported that the implementation of the MSME Tax Credit reduced the tax bill on the small and medium-sized business sector and provided them with $1 billion “when they desperately needed it”.

Dr. Clarke also highlighted that the Government is committed to the continuous deepening of transparency, as seen in the passage of the Central Bank modernisation policy, the passage of the Independent Fiscal Commission legislation, and the execution of Jamaica’s Public Investment Map, as well as the Open Government Initiative.