House Approves Withdrawal from CDF for Budgetary Support of JBI

• The House of Representatives has approved taking $455.9Mn from the Capital Development Fund (CDF) to support the budget of the Jamaica Bauxite Institute (JBI) for the 2026/27 financial year.
• Speaking in the House on Tuesday, September 22, Minister of Finance and the Public Service Fayval Williams explained that the Government set up the JBI in 1975 as a regulatory, planning and development agency.
• Williams noted that through the passage of the Bauxite Production Levy Act and the conclusion of the bauxite levy negotiations in 1975, an organisation to monitor, evaluate and conduct research on the bauxite and alumina industry, as well as to protect the interests of the Government in the industry was absent.
• The JBI is funded from levies on the bauxite industry, which are paid into the CDF. Mrs. Williams said that over the years the institute has also started offering laboratory services commercially, but the income from this is not enough to fully cover its operations. The $455.9Mn is expected to meet about 90% of the JBI's operating costs, with the remaining 10% coming from other income and reserves.
• The Minister said the CDF balance grew from $1.7Bn at March 31, 2021, to $8.9Bn at March 31, 2026, and reached $9.5Bn by August 31, 2026. She said the Fund therefore has enough resources to provide the approved support, and that it will hold $9.1Bn after the withdrawal.

(Source: JIS News)