JUTC to use additional $2.1 billion allocation to plug revenue shortfall

Livern Barrett, Senior Parliamentary Reporter

The state-owned bus company today revealed that nearly all of the additional $2.5 billion allocated by the Finance Ministry in the revised Budget for the current fiscal year will be used to cover a shortfall in revenues.

This morning, Darlene Morrison, Financial Secretary in the Ministry of Finance, told the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee (PAAC) of Parliament that $2.1 billion is to support a shortfall in the company's operations while the remaining $400 million is to support the phased implementation of new technological initiatives.

The Jamaica Urban Transit Company (JUTC) was initially allocated $2.5 billion in the 2018-19 budget approved by Parliament in March.

However, according to the first Supplementary Estimates tabled in Parliament last Tuesday, the JUTC was allocated a further $2.5 billion.

Meanwhile, Marcia Hamilton, JUTC deputy general manager for finance, told members of the committee that up to the end of August, the bus company was 16 per cent behind on revenues.

"We had projected to do in revenues $2.1 billion, at the end of August we did $1.8 billion," said Hamilton.

The PAAC is combing through the revised budget before it goes to the House for approval later today.

The Ministry of Local Government, which received a $7 billion allocation to pay arrears for street lights, also faced criticisms from members of the PAAC.

Morrison acknowledged that the collection of property taxes, which goes into the Parochial Revenue Fund to pay for street lighting, among other things, was also behind projection.

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