Chairman of Kairi Consultants Dr Ralph Henry, who compiled a report which looked into poverty in T&T, is predicting an increase in our poverty level. Henry, an economist, made the statement yesterday in observance of today’s United Nations Day for the Eradication of Poverty.
The report was undertaking in 2006 which showed T&T poverty rate was 16 per cent. In April, Planning and Development Minister Camille Robinson-Regis revealed that T&T’s poverty was on the decline.
Providing statistics, Robinson-Regis said that people living below the poverty line of US $1 a day declined from 24 per cent to 14.8 per cent. In the last decade, Henry said poverty would have declined “up until the great recession.” However, today he said poverty was “likely to increase unless we have such a level of employment creation that is outside of CEPEP and URP. One would anticipate that there would be some increase in poverty…to the extent that transfer payments and the commitment to maintain URP and CEPEP could not be maintained at the same level…you would see that we are facing real-life situations in our country, as we no longer enjoy the level of revenues.” He said some of Government’s transfers went to people who did not need it.
“In the higher income groups, there were people who received Government food cards.” Henry said the 14.8 per cent poverty rate was not alarming for T&T in a Caribbean context. “It can be reduced. We cannot rely on the old arrangements to reduce poverty which is the transfer of payments. We have to get the economy going to create jobs that will allow people to escape poverty, based on their outputs and contribution to the national community.”
He said people have to create income and wealth as well as become less dependent on Government’s revenue, which will pull them out of poverty. Under various administrations, Henry said governments had the resources to spend that would have allowed poverty to be reduced. Henry also felt that the economy was not being stimulated.
“In the first half of this decade governments have not been propitious to poverty reduction.” Earning $150 a day selling market produce, the Baash family, of six living at Heights of Guanapo, has been struggling to improve their standard of living. The plight of this family was highlighted in the T&T Guardian earlier this year. Out of their daily earnings, $100 goes towards transporting their four children, ages three to seven years, to and from school. “Next month taxi fares are going to increase. This will put an additional strain on our pockets. It is money we do not have,” said mom Nicolette Moses. Moses predicts tougher times ahead for her children who have been managing without electricity and pipe-borne water. The Arima family joggles its household with a mere $50 daily, which works out to $8.33 per family member.
They buy basic food items such as rice, flour, cooking oil and sugar which they use sparingly. “Anything worse than this is hell. This budget just killing the poor man. I don’t know how we can stretch our dollar any further when the demands for our kids have been increasing and consumers are buying less,” Moses said.