Jamaica

Which countries lead in budget accountability? Which ones need improvement? Explore our data and recommendations for each of the 125 countries assessed.
Open Budget Survey Results

Public Participation

18

Budget Oversight

54

Transparency

50

Open Budget Survey 2023

Government budget decisions – what taxes to levy, what services to provide, and how much debt to take on – have important consequences for all people in society. When governments provide information and meaningful channels for the public to engage in these decisions, we can better ensure public money is spent on public interests.

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The Open Budget Survey (OBS) is the world’s only independent, comparative and fact-based research instrument that uses internationally accepted criteria to assess public access to central government budget information; formal opportunities for the public to participate in the national budget process; and the role of budget oversight institutions, such as legislatures and national audit offices, in the budget process.

The survey helps local civil society assess and confer with their government on the reporting and use of public funds. This 9th edition of the OBS covers 125 countries.

Summary
Country Specific Assessments
Country summary EN
pdf, 229.61 KB
Questionnaire EN
pdf, 944.28 KB
50 /100

This part of the OBS measures public access to information on how the central government raises and spends public resources. It assesses the online availability, timeliness, and comprehensiveness of eight key budget documents using 109 equally weighted indicators and scores each country on a scale of 0 to 100. A transparency score of 61 or above indicates a country is likely publishing enough material to support informed public debate on the budget.

Transparency in Jamaica compared to others

Global Average
45
Mexico
80
Dominican Republic
77
Honduras
65
Guatemala
64
Costa Rica
61
Jamaica
50
Nicaragua
44
Trinidad and Tobago
38
El Salvador
24
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

Jamaica’s ranking: 60 of 125 countries

0
100

How has the transparency score for Jamaica changed over time?

42
2019
50
2021
50
2023
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

Public availability of budget documents in Jamaica

Key
Available to the Public
Published Late, or Not Published Online, or Produced for Internal Use Only
Not Produced
Scroll
Document 2019 2021 2023
Pre-Budget Statement
Executive’s Budget Proposal
Enacted Budget
Citizens Budget
In-Year Reports
Mid-Year Review
Year-End Report
Audit Report

How comprehensive is the content of the key budget documents that Jamaica makes available to the public?

Key
61-100 / 100
41-60 / 100
1-40 / 100
Scroll
Key budget document Document purpose and contents Fiscal year assessed Document content score
Pre-Budget Statement Discloses the broad parameters of fiscal policies in advance of the Executive's Budget Proposal; outlines the government's economic forecast, anticipated revenue, expenditures, and debt. 2022-23 Not Produced
Executive’s Budget Proposal Submitted by the executive to the legislature for approval; details the sources of revenue, the allocations to ministries, proposed policy changes, and other information important for understanding the country's fiscal situation. 2022-23 61
Enacted Budget The budget that has been approved by the legislature. 2022-23 11
Citizens Budget A simpler and less technical version of the government's Executive’s Budget Proposal or the Enacted Budget, designed to convey key information to the public. 2022-23 58
In-Year Reports Include information on actual revenues collected, actual expenditures made, and debt incurred at different intervals; issued quarterly or monthly. 2021-22 & 2022-23 63
Mid-Year Review A comprehensive update on the implementation of the budget as of the middle of the fiscal year; includes a review of economic assumptions and an updated forecast of budget outcomes. 2022-23 56
Year-End Report Describes the situation of the government's accounts at the end of the fiscal year and, ideally, an evaluation of the progress made toward achieving the budget's policy goals. 2021-22 31
Audit Report Issued by the supreme audit institution, this document examines the soundness and completeness of the government's year-end accounts. 2020-21 52

Jamaica’s transparency score of 50 in the OBS 2023 is largely the same as its score in 2021.

Recommendations

Jamaica should prioritize the following actions to improve budget transparency:

Produce a document that meets the minimum requirements of the Pre-Budget Statement and publish it online in a timely manner.
Include in the Year-End Report detailed actual outcomes for expenditures, comparisons between planned nonfinancial outcomes and actual outcomes and comparisons between the original macroeconomic forecast and actual outcomes.
Improve the comprehensiveness of the Enacted Budget by providing expenditure estimates by economic and functional classification and individual programs. In addition, by providing information on revenues by category (such as tax and non-tax) and individual sources.
Make available to the public a report on what steps the executive has taken to address audit recommendations or findings that indicate a need for remedial action.
18 /100

The OBS assesses the formal opportunities offered to the public for meaningful participation in the different stages of the budget process. It examines the practices of the central government’s executive, the legislature, and the supreme audit institution (SAI) using 18 equally weighted indicators, aligned with the Global Initiative for Fiscal Transparency’s Principles of Public Participation in Fiscal Policies , and scores each country on a scale from 0 to 100.

Jamaica has a public participation score of 18 (out of 100).

Public participation in Jamaica compared to others

Global Average
15
Dominican Republic
48
Mexico
30
Guatemala
19
Jamaica
18
El Salvador
13
Honduras
13
Costa Rica
9
Trinidad and Tobago
9
Nicaragua
7
0
Insufficient
61
Sufficient
100

For more information, see here  for innovative public participation practices around the world.

Extent of opportunities for public participation in the budget process

0
/100
Formulation
(executive)
11
/100
Approval
(legislature)
17
/100
Implementation
(executive)
67
/100
Audit
(supreme audit institution)
Key
0-40: Few
41-60: Limited
61-100: Adequate

Recommendations

Jamaica's Ministry of Finance and the Public Service has established e-consultations during budget implementation but, to further strengthen public participation in the budget process, should also prioritize the following actions:

Pilot mechanisms to engage the public during budget formulation.
Consult with civil society to increase the utilization of the Jamaica InvestmentMap, and clarify and report back on how citizen inputs into the tool are used increase the efficiency of public investment projects.
Actively engage with vulnerable and underrepresented communities, directly or through civil society organizations representing them.

Jamaica's Houses of Parliament has established submissions related to the approval of the annual budget, but should also prioritize the following actions:

Allow any member of the public or any civil society organization to testify during its hearings on the budget proposal prior to its approval.
Allow members of the public or civil society organizations to testify during its hearings on the Audit Report.
54 /100

The OBS examines the role that legislatures and supreme audit institutions (SAIs) play in the budget process and the extent to which they provide oversight; each country is scored on a scale from 0 to 100 based on 18 equally weighted indicators. In addition, the survey collects supplementary information on independent fiscal institutions (see Box).

The legislature and supreme audit institution in Jamaica, together, provide limited oversight during the budget process, with a composite oversight score of 54 (out of 100). Taken individually, the extent of each institution’s oversight is shown below:

Legislative oversight

0
53
100
limited

Audit oversight

0
56
100
limited
Key
0-40: Few
41-60: Limited
61-100: Adequate

Recommendations

Jamaica's Houses of Parliament provides limited oversight during the planning stage of the budget cycle and adequate oversight during the implementation stage. To improve oversight, the following actions should be prioritized:

The legislature should debate budget policy before the Executive’s Budget Proposal is tabled and approve recommendations for the upcoming budget.
The Executive’s Budget Proposal should be submitted to legislators at least two months before the start of the budget year.
Legislative committees should examine the Executive’s Budget Proposal and publish reports with their analysis online.
In practice, ensure the legislature is consulted before the executive reduces spending due to revenue shortfalls.

To strengthen independence and improve audit oversight by the Jamaica Auditor General's Department, the following actions are recommended:

Require legislative or judicial approval to appoint and remove the head of the supreme audit institution.

The emerging practice of establishing independent fiscal institutions

By the time of the cut-off date of the OBS 2023, Jamaica did not have an independent fiscal institution (IFI). Jamaica's Independent Fiscal Commission was sworn in on March 10, 2023.

IFIs are increasingly recognized as valuable independent and nonpartisan information providers to the Executive and/or Parliament during the budget process.

*These indicators are *not* scored in the Open Budget Survey.

Methodology

Only documents published and events, activities, or developments that took place through 31 December 2022 were assessed in the OBS 2023.
 
The survey is based on a questionnaire completed in each country by an independent budget expert:

Caribbean Policy Research Institute (CAPRI)
Kingston, Jamaica
[email protected]
To further strengthen the research, each country’s draft questionnaire is also reviewed by an anonymous independent expert and in Jamaica by a representative of the Supreme Audit Institution of Jamaica (Auditor General’s Department).
Past reports
Years
Language
Country summary EN
PDF, en
Questionnaire EN
PDF, en
Country summary EN
PDF, en
Questionnaire EN
PDF, en