(Jamaica Gleaner) Several ministries and government departments will have to work with less money this fiscal year, despite an approximately 14 per cent increase in the finance ministry’s spending plans.
Key ministries like health, education, national security and tourism will have less to spend on their day-to-day expenses and there is no provision for a sizeable salary increase for public-sector workers.
But the Ministry of Local Government will have much more to spend on the ailing fire service and there is J$1 billion allocated to fuel the Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme (JEEP), the Government’s flagship work project.
Details of the Government’s spending plans for the 2012-2013 fiscal year were revealed on Thursday when Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips tabled the Estimates of Expenditure in Parliament.
The estimates show Phillips plans to spend J$612 billion for the fiscal year. This is J$76 billion more than the J$536 billion which was allocated for expenditure last year.
With inflation for the 2011-2012 fiscal year finishing at just above seven per cent, the first Budget to be presented by Phillips since he was given charge of the country’s purse strings reflects a slight increase in spending in real terms.
The estimates show projected spending of J$375 billion on recurrent, or housekeeping, expenses which include items such as salaries, utilities and interest payments on government loans.
This is J$23 billion or just over six per cent more than the J$352 billion spent last year. That is slightly below the rate of inflation for the last fiscal year and underscores the warning by Phillips that ministries and state departments will have to survive with less.
Among those ministries getting less money is the Dr Fenton Ferguson-led Ministry of Health which sees its housekeeping budget cut from J$34 billion last year to J$32 billion this year.
The biggest reduction Ferguson will face is for health-service delivery which has moved down from J$30.6 billion last year to J$28.7 billion this year.
