More Belizeans are poor, according to CPA report

It is not exactly a secret, but the magnitude of the level of poverty in Belize, is still shocking. In fact, Belize is now the country with the highest poverty among Caribbean countries. According to a report commissioned by the government, forty-three percent of the population is officially poor and poverty is sweeping among all sectors: young and old, male and female in urban and rural areas. The main contributing cause is the lack of income and the area most affected was the north, once a prosperous district.  And could government have done more?  News Five Jose looks at the Country Assessment Report.

Jose Sanchez, Reporting

The Halcrow Group of the U.K. and the Belize National Assessment Team have released the executive summary of the Country Poverty Assessment Report.  The man on the street already knew, but its official today that poverty levels has increased throughout the country over the last eight years.

Joe Wood, Leading Consultant, Belize CPA

“Around a third of households in Belize would be classified as poor and just over forty percent of the population. In terms of severe poverty, that is people who are really going to struggle even to get enough food, the proportions are about ten percent of households and sixteen percent of the population.”

Jose Sanchez

“We’ve gone from twenty-five to forty-three percent of households, all the way to forty three percent of the population being poor. That’s significant isn’t it?”

There has been an increase in poverty in every district except Toledo where it could not have gotten any worse.   Because poverty has increased in other districts, Toledo no longer contains half but only a third of the indigent population.

Joe Wood

“Toledo still remains the poorest in the country. The increases have been greatest in the northern areas of Corozal and Orange Walk.”

Poverty has increased in all groups, young and old, female and male headed households, and also in urban and rural settings.  The most significant difficulties faced by communities are economic, health, education, social and political.  The statistics are clear but Wood still maintains that Belizeans on a whole, aren’t poor.

Joe Wood

“One still has to remember that the majority of Belizeans aren’t poor and that whichever group of Belizeans you look at, whether they’re young or old; whether they are those living in the towns or villages, those that are headed by men or households that are headed by women, the majority of the population in Belize and the majority of these groups will now be.”

Jose Sanchez

“But by what definition if there’s an increase?

Joe Wood

“I mean the poor population has increased, but most of the people are still not poor.”

The government has a national poverty elimination strategy and action plan since 2000.  The current version is an update of the policy document which runs from 2007 to 2011. Since poverty has increased, the implementation of the strategy has to be considered a failure.

Joe Wood

“This is a wide ranging and comprehensive document detailing a number of strategies and objectives that would need to be undertaken in order to reduce poverty. As we’ve seen, poverty has actually increased. In that sense one would say that the poverty reduction strategy has failed. But this would be very much an oversimplification because in many ways many of the factors that have caused poverty to increase in Belize over the recent years have largely been outside the government’s control.  There have been severe natural disaster in terms of severe flooding in 2007, in 2008; there have been declines and continuing difficulties with major employment sectors such as bananas, sugarcane and citrus. You’ve had the global economic recession that has hit quite badly. As a result, unemployment has jumped and economic activity has stagnated.”

Jose Sanchez

“Could the government have done better?”

Joe Wood

“Yes, the CPA team is sure that the government could have done better.  It could have done things like reduce the political interference in the development process. It could have improved the operations and maintenance of its facilities.  It could have improved the delivery of the services that it provided; improve the delivery of health care; it could have improved the management of its staff, both to improve the morale of the staff, but also to help them to deliver a better service to the public. The difficulties that are faced the most are those that are related to economic issues. These are seen as the ones that are the most important. And that might be issues like high prices, low wage rates and more simply and seriously, absence of work and absence of job opportunities. There is a clear way forward governments must do their best to encourage the private sector and produce an environment that is conducive to investment and to increase job creation.”

Though there are difficulties, the government still has to take hold of Belize’s social and economic future. Reporting for News Five, Jose Sanchez.

According to the CPA, poverty increased due to difficulties in key industries, little trickle down impact from major growth areas in San Pedro, Placencia and the oil sector, severe flooding and a general stagnation of the economy.