KINGSTON, Jamaica, CMC – Finance Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke has dismissed opposition suggestion that the Andrew Holness government is seeking to pay down Jamaica’s debt faster than needed, acknowledging that an estimated 95 percent of public sector workers had accepted the Government’s wage offer under its compensation restructuring program.
Winding up debate on the 2023/24 budget on Tuesday evening, Clarke told legislators that he was pleased with the workers’ response to the offer.
He said agreements were reached with several bargaining groups and staff associations recently and expect the Jamaica Police Federation to sign off soon.
Clarke said more than 86 percent of the Jamaica Constabulary Force (JCF) rank-and-file members had voted in favor of the Government’s offer.
“We expect that certainly, for the groups who have signed, the retroactive payments will be paid out this month. It may not come on the 25th, clearly because many of the agreements were just signed, but we will endeavor that the funds will leave the Consolidated Fund by the end of the month,” he said.
Clarke, who had presented a trillion dollar (One Jamaica dollar=US$0.008 cents) budget to Parliament earlier this month, had announced that J$4.3 billion had been allocated in the budget for this fiscal year to settle wage agreements with some of the influential public sector groups, which ends on March 31.
Clarke said the Government had allocated J$10.2 billion for rank-and-file police officers, with an additional one billion for District Constables and J$600 million for members of the Police Officers Association, totaling J$11.8 billion.
On Tuesday, he told Parliament that the financial risk to which he had referred about the need to wrap up agreements before the end of the current financial year would be averted if the outstanding contracts are made.
In his rebuttal, Clarke, also the Public Service Minister, dismissed criticisms by Opposition Leader Mark Golding that the Government is seeking to pay down Jamaica’s debt faster than needed.
During his budget contribution, Golding had accused the Government of not doing enough to support Jamaicans suffering from the high cost of living.
The Government is projecting to bring public debt to below 60 percent of gross domestic product (GDP) by March 2027, a year earlier than the target in the fiscal rules.
Golding said those funds could be better channeled to provide relief to Jamaicans.
“How is the Government deploying the massive amounts of additional taxes it is taking from the people? Instead of strengthening the safety net and investing heavily in the developmental needs of the people, they are intent on reducing the public debt at an even faster rate than is required by the fiscal rules.
“It sounds good, but is it wise and prudent? ” Why to accelerate and bring forward debt repayment when society is under so much pressure,” Golding said.
But Clarke told legislators that Golding had no ambition for Jamaica.
“When I hear the opposition leader talking about paying down debt too fast, he doesn’t get it…he has no ambition for Jamaica,” Clarke said, explaining why Jamaica is aggressively seeking to lower public debt.
Clarke said that Jamaica is projected to reach the 60 percent debt-to-GDP target a year earlier, in March 2027, which is “a good development.”
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