Wed, 08 February 2012
|
LATEST | HEADLINES :
 
|
| Jamaica unveils austerity budget |
|
|
 The Jamaican government unveiled a budget
of 547 billion dollars for the new
fiscal year 2009/2010 (one Jamaican dollar = U.S. $88.95 Jamaican) in
parliament April 7, 2009
reflecting cuts in several key areas.Though the amount is eight percent more than the budget for last year, in real terms it reflects less money to spend as inflation is running in double digits and the Jamaican dollar has depreciated by over nine percent in the 2009 calendar year. Sixty cents out of every dollar goes towards debt servicing and the remainder goes towards the various government ministries and scaled-down capital projects. Tourism - the island's largest foreign exchange earner experienced a thirty percent cut in its budget as the Bruce Golding led administration grapples with cutting the fiscal deficit which some see as an imperative for the debt-ridden island going forward. In fact the government has pared a total of twelve billion Jamaican dollars off several ministries of government, reflecting Prime Minister Bruce Golding's commitment to take tough decisions to cut spending. Thirteen percent of the new budget goes towards Education and nearly eight percent goes towards National Security. On April 23, 2009, the Finance Minister Audley Shaw is expected to tell the country how the $547 billion (U.S. $6.1B) will be funded. With the island reeling from the debilitating impact of the global financial recession, there is speculation that Jamaica may have to go to the International Monetary Fund for balance of payment support as well as seek some of the stimulus funds approved by the Group of Twenty industrialised countries at the London Summit late March 2009.
Set as favorite
Bookmark
Email this
Hits: 276
Comments (0)
 Write comment
|
||
Subscribe to this comment's feed
Show/hide comments
advertisements
Dexter scores big win in 2011 Young Investors competition! Our Young Investors Stock Market Competition has ended for 2011 and the highlight of the year was of course, Dexter Smith's dominant display. Smith won each of the four quarters impressively with [ ... ] |
Investment Opportunities for Jamaicans Pan Caribbean believes that even with the changed interest rate regime; the impact of the Jamaica debt exchange; and the buffeting Jamaica has taken from global recessionary trends, there [ ... ] |
Young Investors: Despite Break, Dexter Still Dominant A confident Dexter Smith has taken a break, maintaining a cash-only portfolio worth over JA $1.2 million and a virtually unassailable lead in the final quarter of the Young Investors' Stock Market Co [ ... ] |
Home
Copyright © 2012 All media Services Limited. All rights reserved.
Republication, re-transmission or dissemination of the contents of this screen, in any form, is prohibited without the written permission of All Media Services Limited.
Use, including viewing, of the material contained herein shall constitute acceptance of these terms.
