Parliament Approves First Supplementary Estimates for 2024/25

The House of Representatives approved the first Supplementary Estimates for the 2024/25 fiscal year on Wednesday (October 15).

The Estimates provide for an increase in total government expenditure and payments by approximately $40.7 billion, increasing the Budget to $1.38 trillion.

This will be financed primarily through additional projected revenue and grant flows arising from non-tax revenue and tax revenue inflows.

Also approved were the Fiscal Policy Paper 2024/25 Interim Report and the Public Bodies First Supplementary Estimates of Revenue and Expenditure for the Year ending March 2025.

Closing the debate on the estimates, Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr. the Hon. Nigel Clarke, reiterated the importance of economic buffers and sound fiscal policies that are critical to withstand exogenous growth shocks and the risks to the economy.

He said Jamaica experienced significant economic growth shocks resulting from low expansion in tourism out-turns arising from a United States (US) travel advisory as well as Hurricane Beryl’s impact in July.

Dr. Clarke said the Government is managing the economic growth shocks by utilising flows arising through the disaster risk financing system as well as overperformance of the bond issue associated with securitisation of the Norman Manley International Airport.

“The $75 billion from the securitisation has come in at a time when we’re experiencing an exogenous shock to the economy and it has allowed us to maintain the programmes of the Government and also keep our debt on a downward trajectory. Because of the securitisation, we were able to keep all our capital programmes in place for four hospitals that we are building at the same time, the 100 buses that we have already rolled out, and the garbage trucks that came in this year. All our capital programmes have been maintained, and at the same time our debt is still on track to end the year at 67 per cent,” he said.

He explained that Hurricane Beryl-related expenditure that is captured in the Supplementary Estimates exceeds $10.5 billion. “We are lucky we had $5 billion of disaster risk insurance money to draw on,” he said.

The Minister also noted that the country received $4.6 billion in Bank of Jamaica dividends, in accordance with the bank’s law.

Dr. Clarke said more than $1 billion was allocated to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security for grant funding in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl.

He informed that some beneficiaries received up to $400,000.

Other allocations include $750 million to the Ministry of Health and Wellness to repair clinics; $2.5 billion to the Ministry of Education and Youth for school repairs; $1 billion to the Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries and Mining to assist farmers; $1.5 billion for the National Water Commission (NWC) to purchase pipes for the SPARK programme; and $900 million for the hurricane clean-up.

He said the Estimates also include approximately $6 billion for activities in preparation for the $45-billion SPARK Programme for roads across the island.

The Minister further noted that $1.75 billion has been allocated to purchase 210 motor cars for the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF).

He added, as well, that the JCF has reached its full complement of 14,000 police officers.

He noted, too, that the Supplementary Estimates include the last elements of the restructuring of compensation exercise, adding that restructuring of compensation for public-sector workers has been completed.

“That doesn’t mean there aren’t ongoing issues to talk about, but don’t lump that into restructured compensation; that’s a different issue and many of those issues we have resolved. We had issues to do with condition of service and we signed off on that with the Confederation (of Trade Unions) and other groups as well. We do have other conditions of service like dealing with the overtime regime in the health sector that’s still ongoing, but that’s not restructured compensation,” he said.

The Minister pointed out that a new bargaining period begins in 2025.