Mr. Speaker, on April 7, 2009 I tabled the Estimates of Expenditure for FY2009/10. Later that month, I addressed this Honourable House and spoke of the economic context existing at the time the Budget was presented. The global financial crisis was in high gear with full impact on the Jamaican economy. At that time, we had initial estimates of the impact of the crisis on the economy. Since then, the numbers have grown worse.
At that time I underscored that the economic challenges facing the country predated the crisis, and that is my belief that we use the crisis to come together and address our longstanding and fundamental economic problems. I maintained that navigating our way through these challenging times would require tough decisions and shared sacrifice, but made it clear that we would never waiver in our commitment to combat the problems faced and to build a solid foundation for sustainable growth and development.
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