Finance Minister, Dr. Nigel Clarke, has shared the concern of his Opposition counterpart about the non-utilisation of sums approved in the country’s capital budget.
Opposition Spokesman on Finance, Julian Robinson, took the government to task for failing to spend approximately $9 billion set aside for major capital projects.
Those funds were subsequently reallocated as part of the Third Supplementary Estimates tabled in the House of Representatives on Tuesday.
Chevon Campbell tells us more.
Julian Robinson says the $8.7 billion in unspent capital expenditure is an insult to Jamaicans.
The Opposition Spokesman on Finance says it’s impossible to justify such under-expenditure in scenarios where people continue to suffer from a lack of infrastructure.
The $8.7 billion reduction reflects an adjustment of seven-point-five billion to the contingency provision for new capital projects. Additional reductions have also been made to projects where implementation is behind schedule.
Dr. Clarke agreed that this is an undesirable outcome. But he noted that the growth in the capital budget is reflective of the government’s sound economic management.
Minister Clarke says despite the under spending of funds allocated under the capital expenditure programme, no project is being cancelled as a result.
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