Dionne Rose, Staff Reporter
SEVERAL PERSONS have expressed surprise at the latest data on the country's poverty reduction, which show a 2.1 per cent decline.
Dr. Omar Davies, Minister of Finance, while opening the 2006/07 Budget Debate last month, made the announcement of the reduction while tabling the 2005 Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions.
According to the publication, compiled by the Planning Institute of Jamaica and the Statistical Institute of Jamaica, the incidence of poverty in Jamaica was 14.8 per cent, a reduction of 2.1 percentage points over 2004.
The publication said that for the period 1995-2005, the poverty level declined from 27.5 per cent, a reduction of 12.7 percentage points. This has not been a steady fall, however, as there was an increase of 2.8 percentage points between the years 1998 to 2002. However, since 2002, there has been a consistent decline.
Leonie Baker, vice-president of the Jamaica Household Helpers' Association has, however, expressed disbelief by there latest data.
PEOPLE ARE STILL SUFFERING
"I don't know where they got the statistics. Maybe they have not interviewed the right people because people are suffering," she told The Gleaner.
She pointed out that many persons, especially persons in her association, were without jobs and some were facing economic hardships.
While not questioning the data, Jacqueline Coke-Lloyd, executive director of the Jamaica Employers' Federation, pointed out that while some persons standard of living has improved, the country's social amenities still needed to be improved.
Opposition Leader Bruce Golding said that the reduction in poverty has nothing to do with any effort on the part of the Government but much more to do with remittances, which have been increasing significantly.
"Reducing poverty cannot primarily be the responsibility of Jamaicans working abroad. When large numbers of them are sent home as now seems possible or when the World Bank funds for the PATH programme are exhausted in 2008,what next? Poverty reduction can only be sustained through economic development," he said.
However, the Survey of Living Conditions has attributed the recent reduction in poverty with consistent increase in economic activity, which it says has reflected in the five consecutive years (2000-2004) of economic growth.
The report also showed that nationally, 53.8 per cent of the persons surveyed reported receiving remittances, a 7.6 percentage point increase over 2004. For the period 2001 to 2005, the percentage of people receiving remittances increased by 2 percentage points.
The Survey of Living Conditions also revealed that over the review period, the rural areas have registered the highest levels of poverty while the Kingston and Metropolitan Area (KMA) registered the lowest.
However, other towns have had the steepest reduction in poverty such that, in 2004, for the very first time, other towns registered a lower poverty level than the KMA, and this was maintained in 2005.
