A PHILOSOPHICAL Prime Minister Bruce Golding last night told the nation that his finance minister will be presenting a budget which should represent hope, despite trying economic circumstances.

"It is a budget that is designed to reinforce hope based on a firm understanding of where we are, a clear vision as to where we want to go and a road map as to how to get there," Golding said in a televised address to the nation last night.

The first budget presentation in the life of the current Jamaica Labour Party (JLP) Government is due to take place in April. The JLP assumed the reins of power from the People's National Party (PNP) after the general elections last September.

Last night the prime minister said "We are caught in the middle of a global economic cyclone that is battering even countries with strong economies."

He added: "Rising oil prices and rising food prices throughout the world are just two of the more obvious signs of this growing catastrophe. It is hitting us very hard in Jamaica because all the oil we use for energy and much of the food we eat are imported."

Golding, however, noted that his Government was committed to delivering on its pre-election promises.

$2.4 billion more

On Tuesday, Finance Minister Audley Shaw presented a second supplementary estimates in the House of Representatives in which $2.4 billion more was tacked on to the current budget. It moved the recurrent expenditure to $245.6 billion and capital spending to $150.6 billion.

Last night, Prime Minster Golding said the budget team, led by ministers Shaw and Don Wehby, along with their technical experts, "has done a tremendous job in crafting a budget that is credible and one that, I am confident, will enable us to meet the challenges that face us".