Finance Ministry Heightening Public Awareness About the National Budget

The annual Budget Debate is slated to take place in March, and the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service is on a mission to get all Jamaicans to pay attention to details of the presentations.

The Budget outlines the Government’s planned fiscal year expenditure on projects and services programmed for implementation and delivery.

A total of $1.3 trillion is the proposed spend for fiscal year 2024/25, as contained in the Estimates of Expenditure which were tabled in the House of Representatives on February 15 by Minister of Finance and the Public Service,

Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, following the Ceremonial Opening of Parliament.

Director of the Corporate Communications and Public Relations Branch, Shelly-Ann Weeks, told JIS News that the Ministry is pursuing a robust campaign to heighten public awareness about the upcoming Budget Debate, by actively engaging persons on traditional and social media platforms.

“We have been sharing information on different platforms. Driving in traffic, you’ll see the billboards, you’ll see budget information on your TV screens [and] ads on the radio. We have a budget term of the week and what we’re doing, is moving to share information about the jargons… defining the jargon inflation, customs duty [and] capital expenditure, [as] not everyone will understand those terms,” she stated.

“It is important that we engage the public and get their interest in the budget, because we know that the budget impacts all of us as Jamaicans. What we want to do is to give them the information so that they can better understand some of the terminologies and steps to how the budget is developed,” the Director added.

Ms. Weeks said information in the national budget is important to all Jamaicans as it provides details on programmes that are beneficial to everyone.

“Pay attention to the actual budget presentation, because sometimes people say things like… they don’t know what the Government is doing. But we are encouraging them to pay attention to the information because you may be required to sign up for a programme or to go somewhere and share information that will benefit [you] in the long run,” she pointed out.

The Director maintains that all Jamaicans must see the national budget as their business.

“The tagline says the national budget is everybody’s business, because it impacts every Jamaican; that’s not just a fancy tagline, that’s a statement of fact. You want to know if there is going to be a decrease in tax, a programme you or your children can benefit from [or] funding for a new business. Whatever comes out in the budget impacts you; so that is why you must pay attention to it,” Ms. Weeks underscored.

She said all information relating to the Budget can also be found on the Ministry’s website – mof.gov.jm.