Update to EPOC Communique #39 released in the Jamaica Observer on Sunday, April 17, 2022.
EPOC would like to note the following changes to the “Selected GOJ Fiscal Indicators for FY2021/22 (April – February)” Table:

Total Expenditure ($625.0B) and Recurrent Expenditure ($580.9B) were within the government budgeted expenditures of $627.6B and $584.9b, respectively.
Capital Expenditure of $44.1B was above the GOJ’s capital budget of $42.9B.

This update is reflected in the document below.

Communique-39-FP-OBS-APR-2022-amended

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The EPOC met on December 3, 2021 to review the macro fiscal programme of the Government of Jamaica (GOJ) and the monetary performance of the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) for the fiscal year 2021/22.
The following were key highlights noted by EPOC:

Inflationary expectations continue to increase as inflation continues to breach G0J target range of 4% – 6%
BOJ projects inflation to peak at 8-9% over the next 10 months before settling back into the GOJ target range
BOJ signals strong possibility of further policy interest rate increasesAs at October 2021, GOJ Fiscal targets are marginally behind due to missed Tax Revenue target
October 2021, Tax Revenues were noticeably behind budget primarily due to COVID-19 containment measures.
Net International Reserves remain robust at US$3.90B
Jamaica’s Vaccination level is under 20% as Jamaica prepares for the fourth wave of the COVID-19 pandemic

Based on the preliminary results for performance to date through to the end of September 2021, the GOJ has met the available Quantitative Performance Targets for the GOJ ERP for end September 2021, with the exception of the Inflation target.

Communique-38-December-2021

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The EPOC met on September 17, 2021 to review the macro fiscal programme of the Government of Jamaica (GOJ) and the mon-etary performance of the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) for the fiscal year 2021/22.

Communique-37-DT-OBSERVER-SEPT-2021

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The EPOC met on May 7, 2021 to review the macro fiscal programme of the Government of Jamaica (GOJ) and the monetary performance of the Bank of Jamaica (BOJ) for the fiscal year 2020/21, and to highlight key projections for FY2021/22.
The following were key highlights noted by EPOC:

GOJ Tax Revenues projected to increase 13% from $505.7B in 2020/21 to $572.5B in 2021/22
Remittances remain strong increasing 34.7% year over year at February 2021 (was US$212.5M for February 2021 compared to US$ 162.8M for February 2020)
Net International Reserves robust at US$3.3B
Debt to GDP projected to fall from 110.1% to 100.7% for 2021/22

Based on the preliminary results for performance to date through to the end of March 2021, the GOJ has met the available Quantitative Performance Targets for the GOJ ERP for end March 2021, with the exception of the Tax Revenues target.
The implementation of the majority of the Priority Actions for the GOJ ERP was delayed relative to the timelines established in November 2019, due, in large part, to the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.
EPOC will continue to monitor the fiscal and monetary targets set out for the Fiscal year 2021/22.

Communique-36

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