BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – THE fight against poverty will get a boost with the August launch of the sixth cycle of the Basic Needs Trust Fund (BNTF), the noted regional poverty reduction programme.
Monday’s (Apr. 27) Post-Cabinet Briefing (PCB) informs that the principal focus of this cycle would be to support health, education, water and sanitation access, and economic activities through skills and organisational development.
It further enlightens that Cabinet has approved a project steering committee to oversee its implementation. Membership will comprise of representatives from government ministries, youth organisations, trade unions and other civil society organisations.
According to BNTF Community Liaison Officer Azilla Clarke, the committee would act as the management team of the project.
“The steering committee is the entity that approves project proposals and monitors the finances allocated to the programme, among other functions. It has the mandate of ensuring that the initiatives undertaken throughout the cycle are truly targeting and aiding poverty reduction,” she said.
As a condition of accessing funding from the Caribbean Development Bank and the local government, a Poverty Reduction Action Plan (PRAP) is being prepared to properly focus the resources being made available under the newest cycle. Clarke explained that the PRAP would consider key policy documents including the Post-Sugar National Adaptation Strategy, the Country Poverty Assessment Report 2007/08 and the National Strategic Health Plan.
Since its initiation in 1979, the BNTF has developed and conducted various initiatives aimed at poverty alleviation and reduction throughout the region. The programme’s primary objectives are to improve access to basic public services by poor and vulnerable communities through the provision of social and economic infrastructure and to enhance skill development through employment and community management.
St. Kitts and Nevis has implemented nine infrastructural projects and five training projects, with another 10 projects currently underway.
The current BNTF cycle began in 2005 and will end in July 2010, and Clarke outlined some of the projects the programme has embarked on during this period.
“Each BNTF cycle lasts five years. The focus of BNTF cycle five is poverty alleviation through six tenets – education, health, skills training, access, water and maintenance. Activities under this cycle have included IT training in various communities, roof repairs and fencing at the Newton Ground Primary School and the creation of the Shadwell Access Road to the link the community to the bypass road being built in that area,” said the Officer.
The PCB reinforces the government’s commitment to poverty reduction, stating “government is of the view that with consistently accurate and advanced planning, BNTF Six, alongside other social programmes, will help us achieve our goals of taking poverty below 10 percent”.
