Opposition senator says fiscal challenges predate Hurricane Melissa

Opposition Senator, Ramon Small-Ferguson has argued that the fiscal challenges now faced by the country did not begin with the passage of Hurricane Melissa last October.

Senator Small-Ferguson made the remark during his contribution to the debate on the Appropriations Bill in the Upper House on Friday.

Though he acknowledged the devastating impact of the Category 5 storm, the senator stressed that in the years leading up to Melissa, Jamaica was already showing signs of underlying fiscal weaknesses.

According to Senator Small-Ferguson, the weaknesses were not always evident in the headline numbers, but were clear in the structure of the fiscal accounts and in the policy choices underpinning them.

He noted that taken together, these factors point to a fiscal position increasingly dependent on temporary measures, policy drift and non-recurring inflows to maintain balance.