JAMAICA | Mark Golding Condemns Selling Future Income to Fund Current Budget, Warns of Empty Coffers Ahead

KINGSTON, Jamaica , March 18, 2025 - In a scathing indictment of the current administration's fiscal policies delivered during his contribution to the Budget Debate in Parliament this afternoon, Opposition Leader Mark Golding accused the government of "playing fast and loose with the future of the country" by selling off Jamaica's future income streams to finance current expenditures, leaving nothing substantial for coming generations.

"The government is selling future income to finance the Budget," Golding declared, pointing to over $70 billion of non-tax revenue from the sale of 12 years of future income from the Norman Manley International Airport that was used to fund the 2024/25 fiscal year.

Despite Jamaica's laudable achievement in reducing its national debt from over 140% to 69% of GDP over the past thirteen years—approaching the 60% target fixed in law—Golding painted a picture of an economy in distress beneath the veneer of positive macroeconomic indicators.

"Our national wealth is stagnant, as our economy is hardly growing," Golding stated, highlighting that Jamaica experienced negative growth for 2024 and was in a technical recession for the last two quarters ending in December.

The opposition leader took particular issue with how the proceeds from selling future revenue streams were utilized. "Not one school, one hospital or one water reservoir, or any other lasting national asset, has been built with those funds," he charged, arguing that the money instead went to finance "various current expenses" that will have no lasting beneficial impact on the country.

"And when you add that to the $9 billion expected from the sale of the government's remaining shares in Transjamaican Highway, it looks, sounds and smells like 'running with it' to me," Golding remarked, suggesting a pattern of fiscal irresponsibility.

Even more concerning, according to Golding, is that the government plans to continue this practice in the coming fiscal year. The Revenue Estimates for 2025/26 include $139.8 billion of non-tax revenues, with $66.2 billion coming from "Financial Distributions."

While $11.4 billion of this sum is being taken from the National Housing Trust—despite the current Prime Minister's previous commitment to amend the law and ring-fence these funds—the remaining $54.8 billion is earmarked for what the Ministry of Finance calls "monetization of contractual cash flows."

"Clearly, this will be another 'run with it' transaction, selling off future revenues to fund expenditures in this year's budget," Golding warned. "In other words, further emptying the cupboard in the coming years with nothing lasting to show for it."

Beyond fiscal mismanagement, Golding pointed to several troubling indicators of Jamaica's economic health. Despite statistically low unemployment at 3.5%, he argued that Jamaica suffers from chronic underemployment, low wages, and unstable incomes, with the World Bank reporting that 50% of non-agricultural jobs are informal, offering no benefits or security.

"You cannot use statistics to tell a struggling man that they are not struggling," Golding asserted. "You cannot use statistics to tell a hungry child that they are not hungry, or an underpaid worker that they are doing well in life. People know the reality of their lives. They know the official statistics 'cyaa nyam'."

More than half of Jamaica's population faces moderate to severe food insecurity, Golding noted, leading to adverse health outcomes including epidemics of diabetes and hypertension. Some citizens depend on "Cash Pot" winnings to determine whether they can provide meals for their families.

Jamaica also grapples with the second-highest rate of brain drain globally, as trained professionals and university graduates seek better opportunities abroad. The country's massive trade deficit—with imports of US$6.1 billion but exports of just US$1.5 billion in the first ten months of 2024—is primarily financed by remittances, a precarious foundation for national planning.

Golding called for a strategic shift toward reducing Jamaica's vulnerability to external factors, particularly by replacing imported fuels with renewable energy sources like solar and producing more food domestically to decrease reliance on imports.

"We need to grow the Jamaican economy so that everyone has the opportunity to earn a good life right here where we live," he emphasized.

Summing up the current state of affairs after nine years under the present administration, Golding painted a bleak picture: "We have an economy stagnating like molasses; negative growth last year; a technical recession; high cost of living; low standard of living; more people in low paying jobs; brain drain like a runaway train; a chronic trade deficit; and spending of future revenue that will leave the cupboard empty."

His conclusion was unequivocal: "The undeniable facts are that this government has mismanaged the economy and has failed to build strong growth from the fiscal gains that we engineered. We cannot continue this way. Things have to change."

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