Political commentator Martin Henry is proposing that government re-allocate money from special funds to finance some of the country’s needs.

Mr Henry’s comments came against the background of what was an anticipated $12 billion re-allocation from the National Housing Trust (NHT) to shore up the budget.

In his contribution to the Budget Debate on Thursday, Finance Minister Dr Peter Phillips announced that only $4 billion from the NHT would be used to finance the budget. Three billion dollars of the funds would come from outstanding taxes and a further $1 billion would be provided in infrastructural development in specified schemes.

However, writing in today’s Sunday Gleaner, Mr Henry says money from funds such as the NHT, the HEART Trust and the Tourism Enhancement Fund, could be used to support education, research and development, infrastructural development and small businesses.

He notes that the NHT, in particular, holds billions in savings from which many contributors may not benefit under the existing regulations.

But financial analyst, John Jackson says special funds should only be used for their intended purposes.

Mr Jackson argues that given the drastic reduction in interest rates, the need for the NHT is no longer as critical.