00:00Jamaica strives to achieve economic independence as a decade in gold with a budget plan that
00:05allocates funds for recovery and reconstruction after natural disasters.
00:09Our correspondent Krista Hoyte tells us more.
00:14Jamaica's Prime Minister Andrew Honest says economic independence must define this decade
00:19as the country confronts hurricane damage estimated at 8.8 billion U.S. dollars, roughly 41 percent of GDP.
00:27He was addressing investors and diplomatic representatives at the Jamaica Stock Exchange.
00:34The true measure of resilience is not simply how a country responds in the immediate aftermath of a shock,
00:41but how quickly emergency response transitions to normal economic life.
00:51That's the true measure.
00:53By that measure, Jamaica's recovery is well advanced.
00:58Finance Minister Favell Williams presented a $1.26 trillion national budget this month,
01:04Jamaica's first new tax package in a decade, aimed at recovery and reconstruction.
01:10The hurricane's devastation made the fiscal reality undeniable.
01:14It is therefore imperative that targeted revenue measures to strengthen revenue performance,
01:21safeguard fiscal sustainability, and ensure the government's continued ability to deliver essential public services are introduced.
01:31Madam Speaker, this government has had the longest number of years of no new taxes in the history,
01:37in the history, in the history of independent Jamaica.
01:43Madam Speaker, only a Category 5 hurricane with winds of 185 miles per hour could have interrupted that.
01:57The plan increases spending on education by a billion dollars, boosts economic development funding,
02:03and directs borrowed funds towards infrastructure, agriculture, and digital systems.
02:08But Prime Minister Holness says the strategy breaks from Jamaica's historical pattern of waiting helplessly when disaster strikes.
02:17The difference with this government is that we don't blame shocks, we don't blame external events,
02:24we don't blame external powers, we take responsibility and we put measures in place.
02:32It ensured that Jamaica did not wait helplessly for assistance.
02:36We were ready to act to protect our people while maintaining market confidence and economic stability.
02:41The broader reconstruction strategy emphasizes building resilience into every investment.
02:48Crystal Hoyt, Telusir, Bridgetown, Barbados.
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