Some Motorists to Get Gas Grants from Jamaican Government

Some Jamaican motorists are to soon get assistance in the form of gas grants from the government.

Motorists have been steadily paying more for gas over the last few months as fuel prices soar globally. According to the latest ex-refinery costs from Petrojam released on June 2, 87-octane gasoline now costs $211.39 per liter and 90-octane gasoline is now $216.40 per liter. This represents the highest ex-refinery price in Jamaica since 2004.

However, local authorities have been working to ease the pressure on public passenger vehicles operators.

The Transport Authority has reported that by the end of June, public passenger vehicle operators and owners will be one step closer to accessing their gas relief funds.

The authority released a statement saying it is in the final stages of discussions with the finance ministry regarding the allocation of the gas relief funds to the public land transportation sector. The authority further stated that is now trying to develop an effective and transparent system for PPV operators to apply for and access the gas grants.

The gas grants had been announced by Finance Minister Dr. Nigel Clarke during his budget presentation in March. Clarke said 25,000 in gas relief grants would be provided to PPV operators to cushion the increasing cost of fuel.

Last month, the members of the opposition, People’s National Party, led by Mark Golding protested at the Ministry of Finance and the Public Service over the soaring costs of fuel.

Golding had drafted a proposal that would see a cut in gas tax, but at the time, he said the finance minister had not moved to implement the measure.

In his letter to Dr. Clarke, Golding urged to give Jamaicans some relief, saying, “inflation crisis is ravaging people’s lives in Jamaica.”

The government’s gas relief program, which will cost the state some 600 million dollars, forms part of the government’s social assistance support plan of over three billion dollars.