Experts to try new tactics in poverty fight

from Channel 5 Belize

For many, poverty is an issue that is studied more than it is addressed. But as News Five's Janelle Chanona discovered this morning, one finding that all experts agree on is that the successful elimination of poverty is the responsibility of every citizen.

Janelle Chanona, Reporting
In 2002 the Country Poverty Assessment report revealed that the nation’s poorest areas are found in the Toledo district and the south side of Belize City.

Hugh O’Brien, C.E.O. Ministry of National Development
“When we say that somebody is poor, it means that the income that they have, they are not able to meet these daily needs that they have, we’re talking about health, education, food et cetera. But they are able to meet their food needs, so they are not very poor. Those who are very poor or indigent as we refer to them, are those who are unable to meet their daily dietary needs.”

According to Hugh O’Brien, Chief Executive Officer in the Ministry of National Development, such reality is currently being offset through various government projects, as well as subsistence programs by the Ministry of Human Development, Technical and Vocational training opportunities, the Social Security Board’s non-contributory pension scheme, and of course, the weekly political clinics in the various constituencies.

But millions of dollars later, the problem persists as the most recent studies reveal that a third of Belize’s population is living below the poverty line. Since then, Cabinet has ordered a revamp of the government’s response and for the past two and a half years, consultants have toured the country to conduct public consultations as part of the new National Poverty Elimination Strategy.

Patricia Mendoza, Consultant
“If we factor in what has come from the public and if we include those elements, then it would have been worth the while making sure that we got it right.”

This morning, consultant Patricia Mendoza presented the latest publication to chronicle the country’s poverty crisis. The document reveals that while economic opportunities and access to education and health were high on the list of concerns for the poor, researchers also discovered “great scepticism” regarding governance issues and the management of public finances. Mendoza says such results highlights the role everyone must play.

Patricia Mendoza
“The consultants have identified that all levels of society have to be involved, so it has to be central government, it has to be N.G.O.s and civil society, there has to be involvement from local government agencies levels. So weaving the involvement of all those players, we are open to. And this is why we are having this consultation today too, to get some ideas to further filter into the action plan. So, some of the ideas that have come up already will be taken on board.”

But moving from idea to implementation will not be easy and success is anything but guaranteed. When News Five visited Aguacate village in 2004, the Toledo Small Farmers Development project, initiated in 1989, had been abandoned. Participants argued that plans to plant citrus and rice died in the fields due to a lack of marketing and technical support.

Domingo Cal, Aguacate Farmer (November 16th 2004)
“You know rice, when it’s time to harvest, it have to be harvested the same time. But if that time gone, everything broke neck and then the whole part of the rice drop down. So I couldn’t get anything from it and that is where I lose my work and my labour.”

Manuel Cal, Aguacate Farmer (November 16th 2004)
“The way as I understand it, it is not we farmers that have the fault, it is the project that have this fault, because they didn’t fulfil the promises that they told us before. They didn’t fulfil their promise. We the farmers do lot of hard work, but the project is the one that has the fault.”

Greg Ch'oc, Community Activist
“I am of the opinion that project-led development hasn’t and will not worked, there has to be a different formula that I have not seen in the strategy so far.”

Today community activist Greg Ch'oc argued that the residents of Toledo are being called poor ...

Greg Ch'oc
“Because they’ve been pushed into a market economy, they’ve been pushed into a cash economy and as such. The resources they have at their disposal are not able to bring in the kind of income that will allow them to live in a comfortable manner in the cash economy that they’ve been forced into.”

Ch'oc’s suggestion to strategists is to establish Development Trust Funds.

Greg Ch'oc
“That could be used for education, scholarship, for health to buy medicine that is not available, to invest in infrastructure in the communities and other amenities that they may need. This eliminates a government’s commitment to have to invest in those communities if there are trust funds”

Janelle Chanona, Reporting
“That would be your recommendation?”

Greg Ch'oc
“Put it in a trust fund and let the community work with the interest from those endowment funds. I see that as the true decentralisation of power, the true decentralisation of authority and autonomy for communities and municipalities.”

But some government officials point out that poverty is also grounded in the philosophy...

Hugh O’Brien
“That has to do with you as a person wanting to get out the state of where you are. If there is no internal drive to come out of that situation then no amount of external intervention will get you out of that situation. You may win the lotto and you will blow the money in a few weeks or months time, so it has to be an internally driven process. And secondly, for those who have that internal drive, that there has to be external support for it and that’s where government and us play a key role and not only government, but the community at large, friends, neighbours.”

Reporting for News Five, I am Janelle Chanona.

The National Poverty Elimination Action Plan is expected to be completed by this summer.