The Government has presented a budget of $852.7 billion, with $778.4 billion allocated for recurrent (housekeeping) expenses and $74.2 billion for capital (development) projects.

Details of the projections are outlined in the Estimates of Expenditure, tabled in the House of Representatives, Tuesday (Feb 11), by Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr Nigel Clarke. The Ministry of Finance and the Public Service has been allocated the largest sum, with $403 billion for recurrent expenses and $7.9 billion for Capital expenditure. A large portion of the sum will go towards meeting Jamaica’s debt obligations.

Large sums have also been allocated to several other Ministries by the Government. The Ministry of Education, Youth and Information gets the second-largest amount with $117 billion for Recurrent expenses and $1.4 billion for capital spending. The Ministry of Health has been allocated $74 billion for Recurrent expenses and $3.9 billion for capital projects, while the Ministry of National Security has received $78 billion for recurrent expenditure and $15.9 billion for capital projects.

For the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation, $11.4 billion has been allocated for recurrent and $22 billion for capital; Ministry of Justice, $9 billion for recurrent and $841 million for capital; Office of the Prime Minister—$10.8 billion, recurrent and $6.5 billion, capital; Ministry of Labour and Social Security—$5 billion, recurrent and $8.5 billion, capital; and Ministry of Industry, Commerce, Agriculture and Fisheries—$10.6 billion, recurrent and $3.5 billion, capital.

When the Second Supplementary Estimates was tabled in the House on February 4, it showed that the Government intends to spend $859 billion up to March 31, the end of the 2019/2020 fiscal year.