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published: Friday | March 30, 2007 <DIV class=KonaBody PMue0="true">
Lean on me? Prime Minister Portia Simpson Miller and Opposition Leader Bruce Golding are caught in tight quarters as they await the start of yesterday's ceremonial opening of Parliament at Gordon House. - photos by Rudolph Brown/Chief <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 700; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">Photographer</SPAN>
Finance Minister Dr. Omar Davies yesterday presented a $380.4 billion <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 700; COLOR: orange! important; BORDER-BOTTOM: orange 1px solid; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative; BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent">budget</SPAN> for the 2007/08 fiscal year, a spending projection that is six per cent higher than the last fiscal year, which ends tomorrow, but a mere two per cent more than a revised estimates approved by the legislature in February.
There was no immediate reaction last night from either the Opposition or the private sector to Davies' spending plan, which, on the face of it, will mean in real terms a reduction in <SPAN class=kLink style="FONT-WEIGHT: 400; COLOR: orange! important; FONT-FAMILY: Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; POSITION: relative">overall</SPAN> outlay, given that inflation for the current fiscal year will run at about 6.6 per cent according to Financial Gleaner projections.
But financial analyst John Jackson suggested that despite the apparent belt-tightening, the administration might still find room for more feel-good capital spending in what will be an election year.
"It seems that there will be a significant increase in the non-debt portion of the budget, by over $30 billion," said Jackson. "That could be the election money."
Recurrent spending
According to the budget document, which will be reviewed by Parliament's Standing Finance Committee over three days next week, recurrent spending is planned at $239.3 billion, up 6.5 per cent on the revised figure of $224.6 billion for the year just ending.
Interest payment on the government's debt will rise by $4.5 billion, to $101.5 billion, or 42.4 per cent of overall recurrent spending.
On the other side of the ledger, amortisations or principal debt repayment will take up about