Durrant Pate/Contributor

For the next two days, the Standing Finance Committee of Jamaica’s parliament comprising all 63 MPs will be combining through the $1.26 trillion national budget for fiscal year 2025/2026.

The process began Thursday morning at Gordon House, the seat of Jamaica’s legislature with the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service expenditure programme first up, undergoing the microscope and the scrutiny of MPs to be followed by the Office of the Cabinet, Office of the Prime Minister, Ministry of Tourism and the Ministry of Economic Growth and Job Creation.

Also under the microscope today will be the finances of the Ministry of National Security, Ministry of Health and Wellness, Ministry of Justice and the Ministry of Legal and Constitutional Affairs.

Tomorrow, the budget of the remaining eight ministries goes up for examination with MPs set to grill portfolio ministers and their technocrats on their expenditure programme, plans and activities for the upcoming fiscal year.

The eight ministries are Ministry of Science, Energy Telecommunications and Transport; Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information;  Ministry of Agriculture, Fisheries; Ministry of Industry, Invest and Commerce; Ministry of Local Government and Rural Development; Ministry of Labour and Social Security; Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Foreign Trade and Ministry of Culture, Gender, Entertainment and Sport. 

Focus on 2025/2026 budget

The Andrew Holness administration says the $1.26-trillion budget is strategically designed to navigate the current economic climate while investing in Jamaica’s long-term prosperity. The Government plans to fund the budget from anticipated revenues and grants of $1.09 trillion in the upcoming year.

Tax collections are forecast to rebound by 5.9 per cent next year to $949.5 billion. The budget strategically increases allocations for sectors critical to Jamaica’s growth and development.

Capital expenditure, which refers to new acquisitions, upgrades or maintaining physical assets like roads and hospitals, increased while recurrent expenditure, which relates to the ongoing cost of running and maintaining government services like salaries, supplies and utilities, decreased marginally.

Funding for healthcare, education and social welfare programmes will be maintained to ensure all citizens have access to the requisite resources to thrive.