Opposition Spokesman on Finance Julian Robinson has criticised the Government over what he describes as a chronic failure to execute the capital budget, warning that the shortfall threatens economic growth and Jamaica’s fiscal stability.

Robinson was responding to a report from the Independent Fiscal Commission (IFC), which revealed that only $20.1 billion of the budgeted $40.5 billion in capital spending was executed in the first quarter of the 2025/26 fiscal year.

“This follows an underspend of $19 billion on the capital budget in 2024/25 and an almost $9 billion shortfall in 2023/24,” Robinson said.

“It is clear that we now have an unacceptable pattern of chronic under-execution. This will only continue unless the Government tackles the inefficiencies and bottlenecks in the public procurement system that are strangling the implementation of critical projects,” Robinson said.

He contrasted Jamaica’s performance with that of the Dominican Republic, which has rolled out a US$12 billion National Infrastructure Investment Plan, with US$9.6 billion already spent. The Dominican government has also submitted a supplementary budget to increase capital expenditure by 0.4% of GDP this year.

“These examples highlight that while comparable economies are accelerating execution, Jamaica continues to struggle with chronic under-spending on critical capital projects,” Robinson said.

The Opposition Spokesman argued that the continued underspending on infrastructure and other projects is limiting Jamaica’s growth prospects.

“At the very time when the Government needs higher levels of growth to generate additional revenues, the persistent under-execution of capital projects is constraining economic expansion,” he said.

Robinson also dismissed the Bank of Jamaica’s 2–3% growth forecast for the September quarter as temporary, noting that it reflects recovery from the contraction caused by Hurricane Beryl last year.

“The real question is: what are we doing to ensure sustainable, long-term growth beyond these temporary rebounds?” he said.

Robinson urged the Government to reform procurement systems and speed up project implementation to drive sustained economic expansion.

“The Government must place greater focus on growth. Without decisive action to reform procurement, accelerate project execution, and create the conditions for higher sustained growth, the country will continue to face weaker-than-projected revenues and under-delivered promises to the Jamaican people.”