THE Government cut the 2012/13 Budget by just under $10 billion yesterday, as it tabled its first supplementary estimates for the year, in an economic climate dictated by falling tax revenues, a declining dollar and the likelihood of failing to meet its fiscal targets, again.
The cuts were expected to counter a $14-billion loss in tax revenues, which should impact negatively on Government’s attempt to meet a 6.3 per cent, or $88 million primary surplus this year.
However, the cuts were limited mainly to debt programmes in the Ministry of Finance and Planning, including the withdrawal of $7 billion in statutory allocations to meet projected interest payments on Government of Jamaica bonds, which failed to perform up to expectations.
Just over $12 billion, which was allocated in the ministry to meet contingencies — including $7.6 billion for teachers’ salaries and $1.3 billion for travel arrears owed to Government travelling officers — was transferred to the various ministries, among them the Ministry of Education, which got $5 billion more.
The Ministry of National Security and the police department combined for an increase in their allocation of $2.7 billion, while the Ministry of Transport, Works and Housing got almost $2 billion more for projects, including the Jamaica Emergency Employment Programme.
Hundreds of beneficiaries of the Programme for Advancement Through Health and Education, who have failed to comply with the requirements of the programme will be disenfranchised, however, as some $400 million has been cut from their benefits.
The beneficiaries are required to attend health clinics on regular occasions and maintain almost perfect attendance records at school but, as the economic situation deteriorates, there appears an increase in the challenge for some families to meet the requirements, resulting in suspension of their benefits.
The Jamaica Observer has learnt that the ministry is taking steps to ensure that penalised beneficiaries still receive basic funding, and that full benefits are restored whenever they resume meeting the rules.
In summary, the estimates showed that there was a $7-billion cut in the recurrent expenditures and a $2.8-billion cut in capital expenditure adding up to a $9.9-billion cut in the budget, reducing the total figure from the $612.4 billion approved last May to $602.5 billion.
The Public Administration and Appropriations Committee will meet today and tomorrow at Gordon House to review the figures, after which the estimates will go to the Standing Finance Committee of the House of Representatives (which comprises all 63 members of parliament) next Tuesday before being debated that afternoon during the regular meeting of the House.
