KEEPING YOU IN THE KNOW ...
The Honourable Fayval Williams, Minister of State, Ministry of Finance and the Public Service Oct 17, 2018 Post-Cabinet press briefing
SUPPLEMENTARY ESTIMATES
Since our last press briefing, Parliament approved the first Supplementary Estimates for FY2018-19. The most important item to highlight is the historic action of the Government in dealing decisively with the street light arrears to the Jamaica Public Service (JPS). A total of $7.1 billion has been provided for in the Budget to deal with street light arrears and current payments.
In his remarks in Parliament, Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Dr the Hon Nigel Clarke noted that “substantial and increasing arrears due to JPS have translated into the arrears owing by JPS to Petrojam, which impacts Petrojam’s ability to pay its obligations”.
He also said that “late payment to JPS also affects the quality of street-lighting services that citizens of Jamaica experience”.
Minister Clarke reported that the JPS has committed to getting half of the 12,000 outof-service street lights repaired over the next few months.
TAX REVENUES & GRANTS
For the April-August 2018 period, tax revenue and grants were 2.8 per cent ahead of budget. This reflects strong performance in areas such as GCT local and GCT on imports.
INFLATION
STATIN reported that the All Jamaica Consumer Price Index recorded a 1.1 per cent increase for the month of September 2018.
Inflation for the calendar year-to-date (January to Sept 2018) was 2.8 per cent.
Inflation for Sept 2017 to Sept 2018 period, otherwise called point-to-point, was 4.3 per cent.
Inflation for the fiscal year-to-date, that is April to Sept 2018, was 3.0 per cent.
The 4.3 per cent point-to-point (Sept 2017 to Sept 2018) inflation figure falls in the 4 to 6 percentage range that the Bank of Jamaica is targeting.
CONSUMER CONFIDENCE
Consumer confidence, which was recently reported, was at a record 172.6 points, up from 159.1, the highest level since the survey began in 2001, some 17 years ago. The primary reason for the unprecedented level of confidence is the consumers’ view of their current and future job prospects; meaning people are feeling good that they are able to find jobs. They also know of persons who are finding jobs, and read about the jobs been created. We know that more persons are employed now than at any other time in our country’s history. What we are seeing in the confidence figures is a reflection of how people are feeling, supported by the numbers we have been reporting.
BUSINESS CONFIDENCE
One of the measures of business confidence is the willingness of firms or companies to invest in new plant and equipment. Approximately 64 per cent of firms believed that the time is right for expansion. We believe this is a leading indicator for GDP growth in the quarters ahead.
JAMAICA STOCK EXCHANGE
It is worth repeating the news that was reported recently about Jamaica’s spectacular stock market rally, the world’s biggest over the last five years. International financial market information company, Bloomberg News, said that Jamaica’s stock market shows no sign of losing steam, returning 233 per cent so far over the last five years.
According to Bloomberg News, “The Caribbean island’s benchmark index has gained 19 per cent in dollar terms this year, the most among more than 90 primary equity indexes tracked by Bloomberg. Over the last five years, its 233 per cent rally dwarfs the 86 per cent rally in the second-top performer, Vietnam’s Ho Chi Minh Stock Index, and the 73 per cent rally in the S&P 500 index.”