Poverty survey exposes St. Philip

from The Antigua Sun

by Nikisha Smith

St. Philip Village has been identified for immediate mitigation measures due to the results of the 2005 to 2006 Country Poverty Assessment (CPA).

Coordinator of Country Poverty Assessment Almira Henry said that the CPA exercise involved a household survey of living conditions, which targeted 1,200 households from upper, middle and lower income brackets across the country.

In the survey of living conditions, the St. Philip community emerged among the poorest in the country.

Concern was raised, as this community was not identified as poor in the 2001 Census. As such their cause has been featured as priority for the short term.

“We have mobilised our efforts to undertake further research with respect to conducting a participatory poverty assessment and this is currently in progress.” The project began in January.

The participatory component of the CPA assesses the qualitative dimensions of poverty and documents the voices of the poor as they explain the coping strategies they have adapted in order to deal with social and economic deprivation. It also seeks to find out what lead a formerly ‘rich’ community to be determined ‘poor’ in about 15 years' time.

A participatory assessment was held during the original CPA that examined elderly, youth, men, women, employed and unemployed people from 12 communities based on the findings of the 2001 Census.

The process is being funded and technically advised by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB). The National Assessment Team, located in the Ministry of Social Transformation, will be conducting the qualitative assessment.

Henry said the findings will be utilised to inform policy initiatives and assist in the design of programmes to urgently address the situations of deprivation that exist. The National Assessment Team will analyse the information that is provided and produce a report on the findings that will also inform the formulation of the National Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper, which will follow in the future.

She said they are not sure what happened to the community, but the researchers are speculating that the downfall may be attributed to the closure of the Half Moon Bay Hotel 13 years ago.

Henry added that St. Philip's residents are disputing the findings. The results, however, came about from the household survey of living conditions, wherein the researchers made a report based on questionnaires that were filled out.

Henry said the researchers would have walked away only with what they were given.

They are consequently working with the hypothesis that inaccurate data may have influenced the results of the study. The participatory component will either prove or disprove the theory.

The residents of St. Philip are being asked to attend focus group discussions based on the different age, employment and gender groups. Those will be followed by an overall consultation within the community, which all can attend.

The CPA 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.

The CPA was handed over to the government officially handed over the government in December 2007 and has been available to the public on the government’s Web sites.

The published document will soon be circulated to all parliamentarians, government agencies, civil society groups and other interest groups as there are only still a limited number available.

Government formulates poverty reduction plan

from The Antigua Sun

by Afeefah Beharry

Government is now in the process of preparing and compiling a National Poverty Reduction Strategy Plan which will provide a systematic response to the issues highlighted in the Country’s Poverty Assessment (CPA) report.

The CPA report was handed over to the government by the Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) in December. The assessment was conducted between late 2005 and early 2007.

Acting Director of the Social Policy Unit and co-ordinator of the National Assessment Team (NAT) Almira Henry said the CDB may be providing government with some assistance in preparing the document.

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The initiative will be spearheaded by the Social Policy Unit within the Ministry of Housing and Social Transformation.

“This document will provide a response to the issues highlighted in the Country’s Poverty Assessment report,” Henry said.

Once the plan is completed, it will be integrated into the country’s overall national development policies and strategies.

“This is going to be critical.

"It will give regional and international donor agencies information about us when it comes to determining the level of contribution they make to our country for long-term social and human development initiatives,” Henry said.

Henry told the Antigua Sun the CDB will be providing additional financial support through a grant to the government of Antigua and Barbuda.

The CPA presented information about the poverty situation in Antigua and Barbuda. Not only did it calculate the percentage of the population living below the poverty line to be 18.4 per cent but a vulnerability line was also established.

In the report, there was an account of the needs which were expressed by communities considered poor according to the census conducted in 2001. The needs which were most frequent were job and education opportunities.

Twelve hundred households from 17 districts, in the upper middle and lower income brackets were targeted.

KAIRI consultancy Ltd of Trinidad and Tobago was contracted by CDB to work on the projects.

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.