KINGSTON, Jamaica — A massive increase in allocations for public debt servicing through the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service has contributed  to an approximately 20 per cent increase in the 2017/18 budget.

The budget has risen from last year’s $592.7 billion to this year’s $710 billion. However, interest and amortisation payments add up to some $310 billion this year, showing a significant focus on paying down the country’s public debt.

The summary of the allocations for 2017/18 in the Estimates of Expenditure tabled by Finance and Public Service Minister Audley Shaw in the House of Representatives this afternoon were as follows:

Total budget allocations — $710 billion

Recurrent (Housekeeping) allocations — $ $485 billion as against $463 billion in 2016/17;

Capital “A” expenditures (which are financed by the government) — $185 billion as against $100 billion in 2016/17;

 Capital “B” expenditures (financed by bilateral and multilateral agreements) — $40 billion as against $29.2 billion in 2016/17;

The debate on the estimates will commence on March 9.

Balford Henry