House Approves Fourth Supplementary Estimates

The Fourth Supplementary Estimates for fiscal year 2022/23 were approved in the House of Representatives on Tuesday (Feb. 28), pushing budgeted expenditure to approximately $1.002 trillion.

Included are net incremental adjustments to the Central Government Budget of $4.3 billion, reflecting a net increase of $10.1 billion in recurrent expenditure and a net reduction of $5.8 billion in capital spending.

Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, said the additional expenditure is primarily to facilitate payments under the public sector compensation restructuring exercise for remaining groups that were not covered under the Second and Third Supplementary Estimates.

He noted that the Estimates make provision for the full implementation of the first year of the compensation restructuring across the public sector.

There are also additional sums for the National Solid Waste Management Authority and the Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC).

Dr. Clarke thanked members of the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC), who met to consider the Fourth Supplementary Estimates.

He noted the “extraordinary efforts” undertaken for payments to be made to public sector workers and encouraged all groups that have not yet settled their negotiations to do so.

“The House has acted in good faith by tabling a Fourth Supplementary and getting it passed in the same day in order for those payments to be made in this fiscal year,” he said.

Opposition Spokesperson on Finance, Julian Robinson, said “we …are facilitating [this process] because we recognise it is for the payment of the retroactive sums and sums to groups that have finalised their agreements.”

The Fourth Supplementary Estimates were approved with one amendment.