By Earl Moxam, Staff Reporter
Finance and Planning Minister Dr. Omar Davies (left) sports a quizzical look during yesterday's sitting of Parliament's Standing Finance Committee. Beside him is Financial Secretary Shirley Tyndall. - Norman Grindley /Staff Photographer
MINISTER OF Finance and Planning, Dr. Omar Davies, has reaffirmed the Government's commitment to staying the course in meeting its fiscal targets, in the 2004/2005 Estimates of Expenditure.
"For 2004/2005 we'll continue the commitment, which was given for the medium term, which is to reduce and then eliminate the fiscal deficit (by 2005/06), and to bring the debt-to-GDP (gross domestic product) ratio and all the other macro-economic variables back in line to build on the confidence, which has been restored," Dr. Davies told the Standing Finance Committee of Parliament yesterday at the start of the committee's deliberations.
In addition, he said, the budget was structured "such that, despite the continuing fiscal constraints, there is a protection of the basic social services and a support for the expansion in production in productive activities."
These elements, the Minister said, underlined "the very principled assumptions and principles on which the budget is constructed."
The Estimates of Expenditure, tabled on March 31, sets out total expenditure of $328.2 billion, split between recurrent expenditure of $187.6 billion and capital expenditure of $140.6 billion.
This, according to Dr. Davies, represents an increase of 25.4 per cent ($56.5 billion) over the approved budget for 2003/2004. It is 17.5 per cent larger ($49 billion) than the revised budget as approved, following the Supplementary Estimates during the fiscal year.
Debt servicing takes the lion's share of the budget, with $96.3 billion from the Recurrent Expenditure going towards interest payments and amortisation accounting for $132.14 billion.
These debt-servicing commitments leave the Government with $91.25 billion in Recurrent Expenditure for salaries and operating expenses, and a capital budget of $8.46 billion.
The administration's commitment to some of the key social programmes, as outlined by the Finance Minister, was immediately tested by Audley Shaw, Opposition Spokesman on Finance, who questioned whether a key poverty alleviation initiative would receive the requisite support promised in the Estimates.
Pointing to the dramatic slashing of the original provision of $450 million for the Jamaica Social Investment Fund (JSIF) to $140 million in the Revised Estimates, Mr. Shaw asked Dr. Davies whether similar cuts might be made to the new provision of $300 million for 2004/2005.
Dr. Davies, in response, sought to assure the Committee that the $300 million was a realistic commitment, which he had every intention of sticking to in 2004/2005.
The Minister will further outline how the budget will be funded when he opens the Budget Debate on April 15.
