KINGSTON, Jamaica — The House of Representatives is expected to approve the first Supplementary Estimates for 2015/16, when it resumes at Gordon House at two o’clock this afternoon.

The estimates will increase the annual budget for fiscal year 2015/16 from the $641.5 billion approved last March to $807.7 billion. However, the $167 billion increase is primarily due to the inclusion of the PetroCaribe Debt Buy Back’s principal payments, which are required to be included in the budget.

Financial Secretary, Devon Rowe, informed the Public Administration and Appropriation Committee (PAAC) last Wednesday that the estimates also included figures for: higher than programmed salaries and new travel rates negotiated by public sector trade unions; the lowering of the nominal GDP numbers; and relaxation of the primary balance target with resultant increases in planned capital expenditure.

He noted that the revised estimates are made up of $337.6 billion in non-debt expenditure (net of appropriations-in-aid) and $470.8 billion in debt servicing funds.

This reflects an overall net increase in expenditure of $166.8 billion as follows: recurrent budget increased by $2 billion, $1.8 billion resulting from the reduction in nominal GDP Primary B target due to a revision in the numbers; capital expenditure increase of $4.2 billion; and a net increase of $160.6 billion in public debt service, due exclusively to the buy-back.

Opposition spokesman on finance and planning, Audley Shaw, has raised concerns about a $2.2 billion capital spending programme involving six new projects which, he said, could be aimed at election spending.

Shaw was particularly concerned about a farm road rehabilitation project which will spend $460 million between now and March. He said that he had been informed that only $300,000 was allocated to his North East Manchester constituency.

Shaw said that even if all 63 constituencies were included in the farm road project, a fair allocation of the resources would ensure that each constituency gets about $7 million.

“A whole range of potential iniquities appear to manifest themselves, and I don’t want to make any accusation of political expenditure or anything like that, but we are in a certain season and this might be a trend,” he told Rowe.

The financial secretary promised that answers about the six new projects will be provided during today’s debate.

The House will sit briefly at 2:00 pm, then suspend the sitting pending a meeting of its Standing Finance Committee, which includes all 63 MPs. It will resume after the SFC meeting to debate the estimates.