Government advised to act on poverty survey

from The Antigua Sun

by Afeefah Beharry

Although Antigua & Barbuda is ranked favourably among other regional territories where poverty is concerned, government has been advised to take the results seriously and work towards tackling the poverty situation.

Dr. Ralph Henry, executive chairman of the KAIRI consultancy firm, was speaking on the results of a poverty assessment survey that his agency conducted in Antigua & Barbuda.

The forum, held last Friday at the Multipurpose Cultural and Exhibition Centre, made public the findings on the 2005 Country Poverty Assessment (CPA). The comments and suggestions which were given after the presentation will go towards the draft of a final report.

During his presentation, Henry said that the percentage of the population living under the poverty line was found to be 18.4 per cent whereas 10 per cent of the population would be vulnerable to becoming poor if there was a shock to the country’s economy.

This additional percentage results in a cumulative total of 28.3 per cent of the population at risk given that the indigent and poor are also vulnerable. People are considered poor if their expenditure falls below the poverty line or if they are unable to meet the basic needs deemed acceptable by the society in which they live. The poverty line was established to be $6,318 per annum.

“We do have poverty but not at the level that exists in other countries,” Ralph said.

He added that there is serious poverty across the region and many of the countries are dependent on one or two sectors. Henry pointed out that only one other Commonwealth Caribbean country, Barbados, has lower poverty levels.

He made the point that Antigua’s poverty problem does not stem from widespread unemployment, but from people who are forced to survive on low paying or part-time jobs. The survey also showed that the St.John’s City has the highest percentage of poverty while Barbuda has the smallest percentage of poverty.

Minister of Housing and Social Transformation Hilson Baptiste said that 18 per cent of the population being under the poverty line is not bad compared to other countries that have it more difficult but that figure is too high for Antigua & Barbuda. “The number needs to go down,” Baptiste said.

He said that before December, the minimum wage situation would be addressed and suggested that a significant wage increase across the board will help to raise the standard of living for workers. He also stated that the results from the report will help to create and strengthen social programmes within the ministry.

He also noted that the ministry has already begun to put certain things into perspectives such as doubling the stipend for people on the poor relief list.

The poverty assessment was commissioned by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) and was carried out through a survey conducted across the country in the last half of 2005 and the first half of 2006.