Jaevion Nelson | More initiatives needed to move from poverty to prosperity

Everyone is now concerned and talking about poor people getting their fair share, though almost no politician can honestly say they have done much for the poor and vulnerable of this country. It’s quite cute, actually.

Seemingly, very few of them are actually invested in pursuing policy and legislative changes that would radically enable greater growth and development for the poor and vulnerable, and thereby ensure less dependency on the state for support. If you take a walk through their constituencies, you will see poverty most beautifully punctuated with orange and green flags bearing names and faces of politicians who so proudly boast about their achievements every day.

Consequently, despite several updates, the community profiles published by the Social Development Commission (SDC) and Jamaica Survey of Living Conditions continue to tell the same story of deprivation and hardships, because much of the development in the country has been largely concentrated in specific areas and benefited only some of us.

Sadly, year after year, administration after administration, and Budget presentation after Budget presentation, they all sit in Parliament, heckling the hell out of each other, throwing banter across the aisle at the expense of the poor people who are hankering for prosperity to find its way into their homes and communities.

Oddly, after throwing shade at each other about who takes better care of the poor, they step out of Gordon House and are barricaded by poverty and squalor in some of the poorest and most deplorable communities. But nothing seems to remind them of their ineptitude, of how they have betrayed the people who voted for them to make their lives better. Nothing jolts them into action. Nothing about the dreariness serves as a catalyst for change among even a handful of them.

Consequently, save for the piecemeal social welfare programmes scattered across a plethora of ministries, departments and agencies, all the poor get is a political consensus around the same set of neoliberal and capitalist policies which is hardly ever in their best interest.

It is really shameful how people’s suffering is constantly used for political leverage.

The minister of finance, Dr Nigel Clarke, in his recent Budget presentation, spoke at length about growth and equity and outlined a raft of initiatives to provide financial and other support to the poorest Jamaicans.

ALLOCATION COMMENDABLE

In the 2019-2020 Budget, spending for the major social protection programme is expected to be $20 billion – $4 billion more than the 2018-2019 financial year. The allocation is quite commendable, but he will have to take care to ensure the larger share of it goes directly to the beneficiaries.

I say this because less than a year ago, at a conference organised by The University of the West Indies, I listened to a presentation by a representative from the Housing, Opportunity, Production and Employment Programme in the Office of the Prime Minister talk about scores of programmes worth millions of dollars targeting youth, but less than half of it directly benefited them. A quick review of the social-protection programmes will reveal that though there is an actual plan, they are disjointed and often duplicate efforts.

I do hope, though, that the Government appreciates that the poor and vulnerable need more than safety nets. The $1 billion for social housing, increase in the Programme of Advancement through Health and Education (PATH) subsidies, the provisions for buses and food for PATH beneficiaries, including at the early childhood level, are all pretty damn good but the Government has to go beyond that.

These won’t necessarily do much to change the circumstances of the bartender at a popular establishment who recently told me they make a mere $185 per hour.

It is clear there needs to be focus on other measures/initiatives to take people from poverty to prosperity. I recommend that there be an increase in minimum wage to $10,000, and that there be a change in the law so that those who breach can be properly fined. We need better protections for workers in the hotel and tourism industry and business process outsourcing industry.

If we are serious about improving the livelihood of those who are poor and ending poverty, then we have to do much more than allocate resources for social protection.

Jaevion Nelson is a human rights, social and economic justice advocate. Email feedback to columns@gleanerjm.com and jaevion@gmail.com or tweet @jaevionn.