'Valedictory speech'

Outgoing Finance and the Public Service Minister Dr Nigel Clarke, in what Opposition counterpart Julian Robinson labelled his valedictory speech in the House of Representatives, yesterday closed his final debate on a supplementary estimates of expenditure by stressing the value of economic buffers for a nation at constant risk of exogenous shocks.

Clarke, noting the potential $64-billion impact of Hurricane Beryl and lower than projected tourist arrivals as a result of United States travel advisories issued earlier in the year, pointed to the $75 billion garnered through the nation's first ever securitisation transaction in international capital markets as a key reason for the Government's ability to follow through on planned capital spending without incurring additional debt. The transaction involved the securitisation of the portion of Norman Manley International Airport revenue that is due to the Government.

While outlining some of the commitments the Andrew Holness administration has been able to stand by despite this year's economic shocks, Clarke pointed out that the Government has started the process of building four regional judicial complexes in Manchester, St Ann, St Catherine and Trelawny.

The finance minister's highlighting of the courts came in response to concerns outlined this week by Chief Justice Bryan Sykes in relation to the poor conditions at court houses across the island.

However, responding to Sykes' concerns as outlined during a press conference hosted by the Judiciary on Monday, where he suggested the Court Administration Division wanted to take control of funds allocated for capital expenses related to the nation's courts, Clarke said the Government stood ready and willing to fund any project approved for construction of court houses in Jamaica.

“In light of what is the headline in the [news]paper, it is important that the paper and the people know of the work that is under way,” Clarke stressed as he pointed to the report on Sykes' concerns in The Gleaner.

“I want to say to the chief justice and to the minister of justice, any capital project that has gone through the necessary approval that is brought for the funding of new court houses, this Government will fund,” Clarke said.

The finance minister said that, on being told a few years ago that no new court houses had been erected since Independence, he initiated the process for the construction of new structures.

The minister said transaction advisers and architects have been engaged for the projects, with the business case expected to be completed by the first quarter of the 2025-2026 fiscal year.

He did not, however, give an estimate of the cost of the projects.

Clarke, who departs his Cabinet role at the end of this month to take up a new post as a deputy managing director of the International Monetary Fund, also listed a range of additional expenditure amounting to billions of dollars, mostly funded by the securitisation transaction, $4.6 billion from Bank of Jamaica dividends, and $5 billion in disaster risk insurance funds.

He disclosed that $1.75 billion has been allocated to purchase 210 motor cars for the Jamaica Constabulary Force, which he noted has reached its full capacity of 14,000 police personnel.

Clarke also noted that the restructuring of compensation for civil servants has been completed, even while acknowledging that there are still “ongoing issues to talk about”, including conditions of service such as the overtime regime in the health sector.

Clarke said more than $1 billion had been committed to the Ministry of Labour and Social Security for grant funding in the aftermath of Hurricane Beryl, which wreaked havoc across sections of the island in July, and noted that some beneficiaries received up to $400,000.

The Ministry of Health and Wellness received $750 million to repair clinics; $2.5 billion went 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 to the National Water Commission (NWC) for the purchase of pipes to be laid under the upcoming Shared Prosperity through Accelerated Improvement to our Road Network (SPARK) programme; and $0.9 million for hurricane clean-up.

Clarke noted that expenditure related to the impact of Hurricane Beryl amounted to around $10.5 billion, and boasted that "the spark has been lit" with around $6 billion already spent on activities in preparation for the $45-billion SPARK Programme for upgrade of the roads across the island.

In his response to Clarke, Robinson, the opposition spokesman on finance, argued that while the nation has seen growth for the past 10 years, except for the quarters impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic and Hurricane Beryl, that growth has been anaemic at best.

"Growth has been elusive, not for any particular administration, because over our 62 years, on average we are only at about 1.5 per cent," Robinson said.

"The challenge that faces the country going forward is how we grow the economy so we can lift our tax revenues and provide the services that our people need."

He added: "If we are frank, the securitisation is a reflection of that anaemic growth, the fact that you have to use future revenues to fund current activities."

The first supplementary estimates, which provide for an increase in total government expenditure and payments by approximately $40.7 billion, were approved, moving the 2024-2025 Budget to $1.38 trillion.

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