The Minister of Finance and Public Service, Fayval Williams, having outlined how the $1.26 trillion budget will be funded for the 2025/26 fiscal year, has received mixed reviews from the citizens of Jamaica.

The budget debate, which commenced on Tuesday, March 11, at Gordon House, saw Williams outlining a 21-point plan on the policies to be implemented for the 2025/26 fiscal year.

She stated that the government has allocated $1 billion to assist the first 20,000 first-time JPS prepaid customers who sign up for prepaid electricity.

This billion-dollar funding will be used to pay for house wiring and inspections, enabling those with illegal connections to safely and legally connect to the JPS grid.

One user took to social media to outline that “election or not, the people of Jamaica will benefit from every good news.”

However, many expressed concerns that the cost of living is another issue that should be addressed.

“We also need bread to not almost be $1000 and food to be expensive due to inflation, also a pay raise as Jamaica is among the lowest wages in the Caribbean,” another user added.

Williams also announced that the income tax threshold will increase to $2 million over a three-year period starting April 1.

She stated that the threshold would first rise to $1.8 million, then to $1.9 million, and finally to $2 million to ensure hardworking taxpayers don’t have to guess year after year if the threshold is going to increase.

Following this announcement, another user stated that “as much as I wish the threshold was increased more, over a period of time, this is the most I’ve seen it increase in over 15 years”.

Others outlined that this agenda is “pointless [as it is] designed for inflation to decrease the value of our money over time. 2 million today will not be worth the same over the years to come.”

Williams further exclaimed that the country’s debt to gross domestic product (GDP) will be 68 per cent for the 2025/26 fiscal year, indicating that the more debt the country pays off, the more space will become available for sustainable expenditure.

“Very few understand this; coming from a debt of 140% down to 68.7% is an absolute feat, but while I applaud this, you need to understand that without constant communication with the people and finding a way of balancing the needs of the people with the need of reducing the deficit, most people won’t see this as a victory.

“Those who are in need now can’t wait for the future, not including the greedy, and infrastructure can’t be allowed to be so dilapidated that it hampers the nation’s ability to grow. Find the balance,” the user continued.

Opposition Spokesman on Finance, Planning, and the Public Service, Julian Robinson, is expected to make his presentation on Thursday, March 13, while Opposition Leader, Mark Golding, will speak on Tuesday, March 18.

Prime Minister Andrew Holness will make his presentation on Thursday, March 20, and on Tuesday, March 25, Williams will close the debate.