The Government of Dominica wants to ensure that its efforts to reduce poverty in Dominica yield results.
From March 2015 former Minister Of State in the Ministry of National Security, Alvin Bernard, has been appointed to the role of Poverty Reduction Analyst in the Ministry of Planning, Economic Development and Investment.
His role is to support the Minister and by extension the Ministry to achieve its policy objectives as it relates to Dominica’s Growth and Social Protection Strategy.
The Growth and Social Protection Strategy includes Government’s social plans and programmes aimed at improving the lives of citizens while fostering overall economic growth.
The last Country Poverty Assessment conducted in 2009 revealed that poverty was reduced from 39% to 28.8%.
Government has a new objective to even further reduce this statistic to fifteen percent.
Bernard details his role to achieve this in an exclusive one-on-one with GIS News.
“In that regard, my role as an analyst will include a number of activities. One is to review the progress which Government has made in implementing the recommendations of the last Country Poverty Assessment report. Further to build capacity within Government and the country to conduct further poverty assessments,” he said.
He will also determine the extent to which that capacity has been built and how data will be used to strategize Government’s plans and programs moving forward.
“We will also seek to review the various programmes targeting poverty in Dominica and evaluate the programmes which are directly or indirectly involved,” he noted.
Bernard added that he will help guide Government as to effective existing interventions or new ones.
The Government of Dominica has already undertaken a myriad of social programs to with a view to alleviating poverty in Dominica.
This includes the Yes We Care Programme, zero income tax for pensioners, free healthcare for under 18 and over 60 as well as for the Kalinago community, human resource improvement, the Housing Revolution, small business support and so on.
All these programmes, Bernard says, speak to the Labour Party Administration’s multidimensional approach to reducing poverty in Dominica.
He says he is satisfied that Government has, with these programmes, further reduced the level of poverty since the last Country Poverty Assessment. However, without clearly monitoring progress and conducting assessments these assumptions cannot be verified.
Part of his tenure, also would be conducting a new comprehensive poverty assessment. However, in the interim he has recommended a system to monitor the progress of current programmes and ensure that they meet the concerns of citizens
“For policies to be effective, the implementation and decision making arms have to be more responsive,” he says, “because the timely response to any problem is critical. Time is always of the essence. Therefore, we want to have a mechanism that can follow the indicators as we go along.”
Bernard has over 20 years of experience in social work having worked in the Ministry of Planning as Project Officer, Senior Economist and Social Development Planner.
He also managed the National Assessment Team for the 2007 to 2009 Country Poverty Assessment.
Aloe my boy this is daft. So much poverty in Roseau central and the people voted you out. Is only now you are going to analyze why they did that? Now the .M. have to create a job for you because he saw you twiddling your thumbs? Best you leave the country and become a real man my boy.
All you we had a productivity consultant in the name of Parry Bellot and productivity is at its worse ever. Now we have a poverty assessment analyst Alvin Bernard who everybody know cyan get anything done. Is Alexander going to tell us that the country is poor because the Government is corrupt and that peope like Alo are paced on the backs of struggling tax payers
This latest appointment by PM Skerrit can be described in one word “Utter Rubbish” the real reason for creating this new post is making Alvin the overseer for the monitoring of compensation to all DLP supporters with Tax payers monies; nothing more nothing less.
It will take education and that means first getting rid of the stupidity promulgated by missionaries.
The getting rid of corruption and crime, both of which are widespread.
The the politician who are passing from door to door,looking for voters during the time of election should wake up on their backsides and go around the country to meet in order to see so many people living in a very bad condition ,not only materially but the also need taking care of…i saw a lady with only leg,she is healthy but he husband is very sick and paralized in the house,they do not have any children,it would be a very good thing for the gov’t to provide a prosthetic leg to that lady ,,her yard is palgue with big stones ,these stones should be taken off,she needs a proper toilet in the house,not that pit toilet she has to go with great difficulty and running water..this is just one of the crucial examples ,,,dominicans are poorer than before in other words the country is progressing in the reverse it’s a shame.
when u are wearin a wooden glasses u canot see that far only arond yr toes every u bonce u must shout out labour ca tarvy while are hungry.
Create jobs then you do not need a poverty analyst! This regime does everything upside down. What is a ‘poverty analyst’ going to achieve?
Just help foster the creation of good paying jobs. Let’s mAke sure it is in the private sector an NOT GOVT. See poverty reduce real fast!!!!!!
I always wondered what Alo’s trade was and now we know. He is a specialist in poverty.
So Allo, are you now going to do what you and your cabal nas not been able to do over the past 15 years, to reduce poverty, or are you just one more leech on the back of dominicans? Let me point out to you the obvious, that the antidote to poverty, is job creation!! Can you handle that???
Poverty and indigency seem to be rising rea fast.
There is a reason for all things. You must ask yourself why.
“The last Country Poverty Assessment conducted in 2009 revealed that poverty was reduced from 39% to 28.8%.”
Bernard, people like you have no shame; you do not even know when you are lying. Based on the level of personal, or family income below a certain level one is classified as poor according to society’s standards. You all claimed that there are 70,000 people in Dominica. Your claim is that 39% of that seventy thousand people in 2009 was at the poverty level. That means there were only 27,300 people living in poverty in the country in 2009. If the amount has reduced to 28.8% you are now saying that there are only 20,160 people living in poverty in the country.
So, are you telling us that 49,840 people lives above the poverty level, Can’t you see your statistic is flawed? No new creation of jobs except the red clinic, why are you people so bold face, and lie so much! In any event there are far less than seventy people in Dominica.
Maybe they included all those rich new Citizens who have invested in the Citizenship by Investment program(god alone knows how many of those we have)
Is he reappointed to the Public Service? Or is he appointed by the President on contract for the life of this government? Was the post approved by the Chief Personnel Officer and the post advertised, with the qualification and experience required to perform the functions and an appointment made on a competitive basis? What is his track record ? This appointment could be challenged in the public interest!!
More jobs for the boyz. I love my PM.
The man himself is saying that the numbers that gov’t are touting are not neccesarily true:
“He says he is satisfied that Government has, with these programmes, further reduced the level of poverty since the last Country Poverty Assessment. However, without clearly monitoring progress and conducting assessments these assumptions cannot be verified.”
Cannot be verified? Simply means you are just saying whatever the hec you want!
It’s just amazing to see everybody with academics in DA, so called big brains only want to climb “ministry steps” depending on the struggling man’s tax to secure his/her meal..while we find no solution to improve the economy..Gasson it hard to unlearn and become free from mental slavery. The big heads not taking risk at all to create employment…is always the lesser educated that trying..as soon as we get educated we entitled to a share of taxpayers money pushing paper..it’s that same notion of entitlement coupled with fear of risk that have Dominica on it’s knees..Every Haitian, Chinese, White man that come to Dominica finding something to do.. and Dominicans remain standing still begging for bread..I am always in awe with the # of MScs/PHDs in DA still not able to make significant change for the nation.. If gov’t were to revolve on half grant 500Gs for 10 young ppl with viable projects yrly, we’d see more employment in DA. Poverty Analyst my bleep, like Gov’t don’t…
If this is the same minister who was voted out of office by Roseau central then we clearly have a problem because he had enough time as a senator to alleviate poverty! This is the thing. Why not get some new ideas and blood into the system? We grow when we take certain risks and experiment on feasible ideas.
How does a Government help in reducing poverty? The man speaks of a myriad of social programs with regards to alleviating poverty in Dominica including Yes We Care Programme, zero income tax for pensioners, free healthcare for under 18 and over 60 as well as for the Kalinago community, human resource improvement, the Housing Revolution, small business support and so on.
Why not elaborate on systems setup or to be setup that will drive start kick-start the engine of growth in the likes of entrepreneurial and other manufacturing and agricultural sector incentives etc. How can just speaking about using Tax payers and gran money to fund the above be poverty alleviating when jobs are not being created even as we speak people are still loosing their current employment due to some negative economics or victimization?
Look now a job have been created for you Bernard just to waste our money and continue speaking nothings to us. Quite fed-up of you guys ineptness and opportunistic…
“From March 2915, former Minister …” This is now FOUR months since the gentleman has been appointed and it is only NOW that we are made aware of it. This is my difficulty with this government: always late on disseminating info to the public. Does this pronouncement have anything to do with the issue of Senator Jahsia BENOIT having a job with the govt. of which he is a part?
HOTEP!
This is just jobs-for-the-boys. By now Mr. Bernard should be outlining the new strategies and initiatives to reduce poverty. He should not be talking about reviewing documents. He has been in this job for over 6 months now.
THIS IS SIMPLY A JOB TO MANAGE THE RED CLINIC.
Continued….. I think poverty is closer to 40% than 30%. You would not even know there are people in venezuela starving if you listened to the president of the country. I hope our government is not doing the same. Please tell the people as it is, you never know who will be able to help. When we think all is nice and dandy, nobody will extend a helping hand since they thinking all is good. Please, Please, Please tell the people how it is and not what you think they want to hear.
I think that poverty is above 40%.
it’s hard to make me believe that poverty is 28% in Dominica. It’s maybe among labourites but not Dominica in general. These people do not go around Dominica, that I know for sure. I am one of a few Dominicans who go all over the place and I mean all over the place. I have seen a slight change in villecase , pennville, Portsmouth, cottage and Bellevue chopin area but in areas where people use to flourish like Laplain, Delice, Castle Bruce, Salibury, Marigot, man I can tell you the poverty rate has increased a lot. I would like to hear form people in the areas in mentioned there was an increase, they can tell us better since I am alien in their village. Those areas are not like how they were in the 90’s not even close. it’s amazing to see how people adjusted in those areas and do with what they have. I wonder how many people take a drive around Dominica at least once a week or even once month. If we as Dominicans did that often enough, we would definitely open our eyes.
You exempted Portsmouth Vielkecase etc but my experience is that the entire island is sunk dump poverty. First off the had it not been for Ross University Portsmouth would be totally abandoned. Even with Ross the unemployment rate is 35% and most young peoe dog out at the very first opportunity.
Please dont confuse a few pathed road surfaces as economic prosperity. Even if you have a job but underemployed that underscores poverty
remove the paved streets in vieille caase and penvill and tell me if u still seeing the improvement in the standard of living
Let me take my time with this…. I like that, I really really like that. LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL LOL
hahahahahahahahahahahahahahhahahaha.
Anyway anyway, all you not easy that Dominica there eh. SMH..
Poverty has not been reduced. A read of Chapter 13 of the 2009 Country Poverty Assessment Report reveals that the so-called ‘reduction’ is really the movement of poor/unemployed persons away from the formal economy into the “underground economy” where informal/illegal activities are the means of earning a living. The claimed reduction of poverty is equivalent to the number of persons now engaged in drug and human trafficking, transactional sex, homelessness, begging and other non-conventional means of survival.
I wonder how labourites feel to see jobs for the boys while they there struggling.
we know but we like it so, we eating our crumbs and shutting up, lolllllllllllllllllll