Government urged to present plan for bankable reconstruction projects

Opposition Senator Ramon Small-Ferguson says the US$2.4 billion in private capital that is to be mobilised from external sources for Jamaica’s reconstruction efforts is contingent on the country’s ability to present bankable and competitive projects.

Contributing to a debate to suspend the fiscal rules in the Senate yesterday, Small-Ferguson said while international funding support is welcomed, only a portion of the US$6.7 billion that is being touted is secured and guaranteed, leaving a substantial amount left to be sourced.

With US$3.6 billion secured so far, Small-Ferguson said, “There is US$662 million which existed in liquidity from the disaster insurance proceeds and the contingent credit access and domestic resources.”

However, he said the remainder of US$2.4 billion is not financing that has been secured or committed at this point but rather private capital that will need to be mobilised.

Noting that the funding will be targeted towards recovery projects, the Opposition senator said the Government should divulge its plan to present bankable projects at the required scale to access the funding.

He argued that Jamaica has had a challenge in “credibly” accessing foreign direct investment over the last decade.

“And now we are being asked to mobilise a significant amount of external financing through this US$2.4 billion – private sector-led financing, in effect – at a scale we have never been able to successfully do before.”

He said this is being done in a context where the Government has, over the last two years, underspent its capital budget.

“So, if we are unable to execute on our own capital projects, using our own money, if we haven’t been able to sort that out, how are we gonna execute the international projects with financing structures that require much more complexity and delivery,” he questioned.

He said the US$2.4 billion could become a “white elephant”, noting that it is available in theory but inaccessible in practice.

With the relaxation of the fiscal rules, Small-Ferguson said the obligation to be fiscally responsible is removed and the Government will now have to be disciplined on its own volition.

In the absence of fiscal restraints, governance becomes the only safeguard to protecting the public purse, he added.

He said statements of intent are not enough but the country should be told how decisions are going to be made and how money will be spent as well as how progress will be reported.

Senator Marlon Morgan, parliamentary secretary in the Ministry of Education, Skills, Youth and Information, said the current administration has a fiscally responsible record.

He said the Holness administration has been hailed by the international community as the poster child of fiscal responsibility.

While conceding that the Government did not spend the full sum for capital projects, Morgan said the administration had taken steps to amend procurement legislation, established a speed task force and appointed a minister to drive efficiency in the public sector.

Senator Aubyn Hill, minister of industry, investment and commerce, said the Government has managed the economy responsibly and the people of Jamaica have elected it to run the country.

“We will have the management and discipline in place,” Hill said.

He dismissed concerns about the mobilisation of the US$2.4 billion, arguing that Jamaica must use the money to build a future for Jamaicans that is much better than what previously existed.

The Financial Administration and Audit (Suspension of Fiscal Target Requirements) Order, 2025 Resolution was affirmed by the Senate.

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