KINGSTON, Jamaica – The House of Representatives resumes today at 2:00 pm with highlights including passage of the second supplementary estimates for 2019/20, and plans to extend the Zones of Special Operations in Denham Town, Kingston and Mount Salem, St James.

The passage of the estimates closes the door on Government budgeting for 2019/20, as Parliament is due to be prorogued next Monday in time for the annual ceremonial opening of the 2020/21 session on Tuesday, February 11 at Gordon House.

The supplementary budget, which Minister of Finance and the Public Service Dr Nigel Clarke was hoping would have been concluded last week Tuesday morning, got held up in the Public Administration and Appropriations Committee last week and the review was eventually completed on Wednesday morning.

Following the approval of the first supplementary estimates in October, the $851.1 billion estimates of expenditure for the current fiscal year, which ends March 31, is now being expanded by approximately $8 billion for a new total recurrent and capital expenditure estimate of $859 billion, a leap of approximately one per cent over the previous figure.

Financial Secretary Darlene Morrison confirmed last week that the increase essentially affects non-debt expenditure, which steps up to $541.4 billion, while public debt servicing was static at $317.6 billion.

 Among the ministries benefiting from the $7.966 billion rise in spending were the Ministry of Transport and Mining with close to $1.5 billion to cover payment of outstanding statutory deductions and other debts owed by the Jamaica Urban Transit Company and the Montego Bay Metro Company; and the Ministry of Education, Youth and Information’s $1.6 billion which includes $1.2 billion shared evenly between The University of the West Indies and The University of Technology in subventions mainly to assist students with outstanding fees.

The MPs will certainly welcome the opportunity to extend the lives of the two ZOSOs, considering Prime Minister Andrew Holness’ expressed desire to introduce more of the social intervention-led programmes when he comes to Parliament with the 2020/21 budget next week.

Also listed on the agenda for today is Minister of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries Audley Shaw’s piloting of the debate on a motion to examine the present and future viability of the cane and sugar industry in Jamaica.

Balford Henry