Opposition chides gov't for failure to execute capital budget

 

The parliamentary opposition has asserted that the country cannot afford the government's repeated failure to execute its capital budget, especially at a time when stronger economic growth is urgently needed to boost revenues and strengthen Jamaica's fiscal position.

 

It follows a release from the Independent Fiscal Commission, which revealed that only $20.1 billion was spent in the first quarter of financial year 2025-2026 against a budgeted $40.5 billion. 

 

Opposition Spokesman on Finance Julian Robinson says it is unacceptable that nearly half of the planned capital spending has gone unexecuted in the first quarter of the fiscal year.

 

Mr. Robinson says the repeated underspending on capital expenditure, particularly infrastructure projects, represents a growth-constraining concern.

 

"Based on a release from the Independent Fiscal Commission, the government has only spent $20 [billion] of the $40 billion that was projected for the capital budget for the first quarter of this fiscal year. This represents a worrying trend where there is chronic under-investment of our capital budget. For the last fiscal year, for 24-25, the government underspent the capital budget by $19 billion. For the previous fiscal year for 23-24, it underspent the capital budget by $9 billion. Jamaica projects to have only 1 per cent growth each year for the next four fiscal years. And the major reason, a big part of the reason for this is that we cannot spend the capital budget which has been allocated in each budget cycle," he complained.

 

He said the government should urgently address the issues preventing it from spending the capital budget. 

 

"Whether these be procurement issues or public management investment issues, whatever they are, they must be addressed, or else we will not be able to move to three, four, five per cent growth, which is necessary to lift the living standards of Jamaican people and to generate the tax revenues to provide the social services that are necessary," said the opposition spokesman.