15- Billion deficit

[Karl]

Capital projects sacrificed To keep fiscal deficit in line

Capital projects sacrificed To keep fiscal deficit in line
published: Saturday | September 8, 2007


The Jamaica Labour Party will take over the management of fiscal accounts that have remained well within target, at least for the first four months of the fiscal year.

The Finance Ministry, under Dr. Omar Davies, has just reported a lower-than-projected deficit of $16.6 billion, or $3.2 billion better than budgeted, due to continued restraint on spending, but moreso from bigger than expected tax and fee collections.

The treasury took in taxes that were $1 billion above expectations, boosting total revenues and grants to $76.5 billion to the end of July.
Corporate and income tax collections were almost $1.6 billion stronger than expected, but lower than projected intake from Special Consumption Tax on both consumption goods and imports eroded some of the gains.

Overspending a problem
Overall spending topped $93 billion, but this figure was more than $600 million below Davies' budget for the period.

The outgoing Finance Minister paid out $260 million less than budgeted for wages, and also held the brakes on debt servicing in the domestic market, but the gains were offset by overspending on recurrent programmes and external debt servicing.

But it was only by cutting expenditure on capital projects by $912 million that Davies managed to keep below his overall spending target.

The Finance Minister, whose monthly borrowings are used to fill gaps in his budget, was restrained in his market forays, at least on the international capital market.

At the end of July, perhaps constrained by the United States subprime mortgage debacle that has kept investors shy of subscribing to new debt, Davies had borrowed only $1.8 billion from external sources, though he had signalled intentions to issue bonds totalling more than $12 billion over the period.

Instead, the Finance Minister has tapped the local markets for the funds, borrowing just under $48 billion domestically between April and July, against a target of $37.7 billion.

Over the same period, the ministry paid down $26 billion of the country's principal debt.

At the end of July, the debt stock was up to $969.4 billion, a five per cent growth since the end of fiscal 2006/07.

The primary balance, which measures the extent to which expenditures are covered by revenues, when debt servicing charges are ignored, was better than expected at $18 billion (the budget target was $15 billion), but is more than $2 billion below its July 2006 level.

lavern.clarke@gleanerjm.com

[Pepsi]

...and, what would he have done had the PNP won? Will he share his plans with the JLP? ...or, do the JLP even want to hear?

...as with Boxhill so with Bruce, as far as performance is concerned tell us not of the previous regime...just do...i.e. just perform well...just "do it"! ...or, as with Boxhill...

The leader have shed some light on a bad situation,'just do it' was Boxhill problem,Bruce is showing leadership Qualities here,by letting people know what time is it.

[Assasin]

this is fi Karl

[Pepsi]

Same way unuh siddung and mek Manley fock up tings in the 70s unuh mek these hafl wits fock up tings fi almost 2 decades. Yet ppl vex when mi question unuh intelligence.

First ting .. scrap PJ pension.
second ting .. scrap NWA.
third .. reduce the size a di gov't.
fourth .. seize some mudafukkas assets and put dem UNDAH di jail.

and to make matters worse,non of the two multinational institutions nuh want give jamaica loans true di PNp chat hard and years of rejection.My best bet is to try a ting with the World Bank,if not the Chinese,or Venezuelian Banks.

[Assasin]

worst than who thought?

Watch and see how much a go come to light now.

[Assasin]

it simply show how Omar and the PNP government have been operating, robbing Peter fi pay Paul.

How can any good financial manager defend a 15 billion dollar deficit and worst t he budget was just read 4 months ago.

Again you fail to see the main point and defend incompetence.

[Lazie]

Same way unuh siddung and mek Manley fock up tings in the 70s unuh mek these hafl wits fock up tings fi almost 2 decades. Yet ppl vex when mi question unuh intelligence.

First ting .. scrap PJ pension.
second ting .. scrap NWA.
third .. reduce the size a di gov't.
fourth .. seize some mudafukkas assets and put dem UNDAH di jail.

[Pepsi]

oh my god,the economy was much worse off than we thought,he may have to implement back the school fee until further notice.

[Karl]

What was Dr Omar Davies doing?

...and, what would he have done had the PNP won? Will he share his plans with the JLP? ...or, do the JLP even want to hear?

...as with Boxhill so with Bruce, as far as performance is concerned tell us not of the previous regime...just do...i.e. just perform well...just "do it"! ...or, as with Boxhill...

[Lazie]

What was Dr Omar Davies doing?

Would love to hear the views of the POPPY SHOW BRIGADE!!!

[Time]

What was Dr Omar Davies doing?

[Assasin]

$15-b deficit faces new gov't

BY ERICA VIRTUE Observer writer virtuee@jamaicaobserver.com
Saturday, September 08, 2007


The new Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Government, which is expected to be installed by next week, will be immediately faced with a deficit of just over $15 billion to meet extra budgetary expenditures for the current financial year, the Observer was told yesterday.

According to one source, the party was notified on Wednesday that the finance ministry simply did not have the funds.

"I can tell you that the JLP was surprised, particularly because the source of the information was not only credible, but shocking." the source said.
The absence of the funds will immediately affect the University Hospital, the University of the West Indies, at least one pension fund, and payments to several large blocs, including pensioners.

Ministry of Finance officials contacted yesterday were tight-lipped, with some even refusing to answer queries about the ability of the ministry to make the payments, especially those to cover the incoming Government's promise of free tuition fees up to the secondary school level.

Responses of "no comment" or silence greeted questions posed by the Observer. However, one official said, "I do not believe it is something we would deny".

The JLP, which made the free tuition fee promise during its campaign in the just concluded general elections, has already been forced to address concerns raised by parents who have questioned whether they should pay the money, given that schools started reopening late this week, with full resumption set for next Monday, days before the new Government will take office.

The JLP has vowed that the promise will be kept and has said that parents who have already paid the money will be refunded. However, despite the JLP's reassurance, some school administrators have insisted that students pay all fees.

At 11:00 am on Friday when Jamaica College and Ardenne High School were contacted, they insisted that all the fees should be paid.

Contacted later, the JLP's spokesman on education, Andrew Holness, said he has received calls about the issue.

"I have received several complaints with respect to the schools you mentioned, plus others," he said. "I can assure you that the issue will be addressed and has been addressed. But, as to how we deal with this emerging issue, I have to speak with the party leader."

Tuition payments to schools, by the more than 200,000 students at the secondary level, have, over the years, provided early revenue for schools to begin preparatory work for the beginning of the new school year.