BASSETERRE, St. Kitts – PRIME MINISTER Dr. the Hon. Denzil Douglas expressed his “pride and deep sense of accomplishment” at the results of the recently conducted Country Poverty Assessment (CPA) Report which saw national poverty levels fall dramatically.
Douglas was at the time addressing the delegates gathered at yesterday’s (Apr. 24) National Consultation on the Draft Country Poverty Assessment (CPA) Report 2007/08 at the St. Kitts Marriott Resort and Royal Beach Casino. Officials from the Federal Government and the Nevis Island Administration (NIA), as well as prominent civil servants, diplomats and private sector representatives were present for the discussion.
The CPA Report indicated that poverty in St. Kitts decreased from 30 percent to 23.7 percent while sister isle Nevis recorded a reduction from 32 percent to 15.9. It further revealed that indigence on St. Kitts had been reduced to one percent and, impressively, completely eliminated on Nevis.
Calling the results “a laudable performance”, Douglas noted they were made even more remarkable by the fact that the survey was conducted after the “unprecedented challenge” of the 2005 closure of the sugar industry.
“Poverty reduction has been identified as a core development issue of the government of St. Kitts and Nevis. It is our desire to stamp out poverty, inequality and social exclusion.
“The Report provides evidence of the accomplishments being made by our people in the fight towards the alleviation and eventual eradication of poverty. It also highlights the work that remains to be done to fulfil our goals of continuous improvement of the living standards of every person and to further secure our position as a country with a high rate of human development,” said the PM.
Deputy Premier and NIA Minister of Social Development, the Hon. Hensley Daniel concurred with Douglas’ assertion.
“The findings of the CPA point to significant improvement in several indicators such as health, education and housing. However, they must be seen as a work in progress. We have to continue to fight poverty because by international standards it is still too high for us.
“The NIA takes the report very seriously. The 2001 CPA underscored a need for us to focus on education and the phenomenon of the working poor. The results of that CPA have remained with us and we have used them to develop particular programmes for poverty alleviation. We will use the results of this one to plan the way forward for economic and social development,” Daniel informed.
