Building a Better Jamaica

Wednesday, September 01, 2010
Jamaica Information Service

Prime Minister Bruce Golding said that Minister of Finance and the Public Service, Audley Shaw has assured him that the inflation rate for this fiscal year would finish lower than what was projected.

He was speaking at the launch of the Jamaica Infrastructure Development Programme (JIDP) in Lewisville, St. Elizabeth on August 31.

Mr. Golding, who repeated that the government would not be turning away from the path of low interest rates said, "I apologise to anybody who feels that I must stop what I am doing, I mustn't pursue the programme to address our roads, I mustn't pursue a programme to get interest rates down even lower. Minister Shaw told me last week when I met with him and his team that interest rates are going to be even lower than we had projected. I apologize to anybody if they warn me, leave that alone. Don't focus on that, just answer the questions that we ask you".

The JIDP is funded by a loan from the government of the People's Republic of China to the government of Jamaica that will allow $30 billion of infrastructure works across the island to be undertaken over five years. The repayment of the loan will come mainly from the Jamaica Road Maintenance Fund which is funded from the cess on fuel tax.