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REPORT #495 June 2002
POVERTY ASSESSMENT REPORT - BELIZE
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Submitted to THE CARIBBEAN DEVELOPMENT BANK Submitted by KAIRI CONSULTANTS LTD. In association with THE NATIONAL ASSESSMENT TEAM OF ST.
BELIZE
EXECUTIVE
SUMMARY
INTRODUCTION
This study,
Poverty Assessment Report - Belize, sought to understand the phenomenon
of poverty in Belize both from primary and secondary data sources, and from the
people themselves. The findings are based on three main sources: a national
survey, community-level situational analyses and an analysis of key institutions
and organisations. The objective was to arrive at measures to address both the
immediate conditions of poverty and the underlying factors that lead to such
poverty. The Terms of Reference can be summarised in the following five key
questions:
Key Questions
1. |
What are the nature, extent, geographic concentration and
severity of poverty in Belize? |
2. |
What are the factors that contribute to poverty in Belize,
that is: What economic and social policies and/or socio cultural issues
generate, sustain, alleviate or reduce poverty? |
3. |
What are the dynamic links between unemployment, poverty and
conditions in the informal sector? |
4. |
In the context of (2) and (3), how do Government Agencies,
Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs), Community-Based Organisations
(CBOs), and Grass-Roots Organisations (GROs) currently impact on
poverty? |
5. |
What actions these groups (Government Agencies, NGOs, CBOs,
and GROs) and the people themselves can use to address the immediate
conditions of poverty and its underlying causes?
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Additionally, the study tackled a core task of
training Belizeans in conducting assessments and undertaking project action such
that the critical work of poverty reduction and socio-economic development can
be sustained, on the withdrawal of the consultants.
Definition of
poverty
Fundamental to all definitions of poverty is the notion of a
deficiency of resources. One absolute measure of poverty seeks to establish a
level below which households will not have the wherewithal to maintain a healthy
existence. This is often referred to as the indigence line in that
below this level, the members of the household are threatened with ill-health
and even death. In other words, the indigence line establishes the minimum
food requirements necessary for existence. Beyond the indigence line, there
are absolute measures of poverty that include non-food elements deemed necessary
for functioning in a society. These measures vary among
researchers.
Approach
The present study utilised the
approach employed by the World Bank, which imputes for non-food elements by
taking the average spent by the poorest 40 percent of the population on these
items. The sum of the values of the minimum food requirements and the non-food
elements constitute the poverty line. The study also relied on
expenditure data rather than on income in identifying the level of well-being in
a household and among individuals.
The data for the assessment of poverty
were derived from a national survey conducted by the Central Statistical Office
(CSO) of Belize in mid-1995. The survey design was patterned after the Labour
Force Survey that the CSO has been conducting on a biannual basis, since the
early 1990s.
The community-level situational analyses yielded data on
the perceptions and concerns of households in twelve poor communities chosen by
a National Assessment Team (NAT) which collaborated with the consultants
(Regional Technical Team) in the conduct of the exercise. Two communities were
selected from each of the Districts of Belize and their selection was based on
the knowledge of the NAT of the characteristics of communities across the
country.
Findings
Poverty estimates
From the
analysis of the data of the National Survey, 25.3 percent of households in
Belize, and 33.0 percent of individuals were poor on the basis of their
expenditure on food and non-food items. Moreover, 9.6 percent of households and
13.4 percent of individuals were considered to be extremely poor or indigent:
their level of expenditure was not high enough to enable them to satisfy their
basic food requirements. The level of poverty among the youth and elderly was
31.6 percent and 27.6 percent respectively, and 32.8 percent and 33.1 percent
for male and female heads of households.
SOME OTHER CHARACTERISTICS
OF THE POOR
Urban residents had a lower poverty rate than rural
residents, 20.6 percent and 42.5 percent respectively. Cayo and Toledo were the
poorest Districts in the country. The percentage of the population indigent in
Cayo and in Toledo was 19.7 and 47.2 percent respectively. Over half the rural
population in Cayo and in Toledo was poor. In general, the majority of the poor
reside in rural areas of the country.
The poor lived in large households
and had fewer earners than the non-poor. While female heads of households were
more likely to be poor than male heads of households, male heads were more
dominant across the country and among the poor, except in the lowest quintile
group in Belize District in which female heads outnumbered male
heads.
The poorest quintile had more children, and over 45 percent of the
poorest quintile was comprised of children under five. The heads of households
were slightly older than the next poorest quintile. In respect of ethnicity, the
Maya were the most heavily represented among the poor of the country, relative
to their representation in the population. Immigrants from Central America were
more heavily represented among the poor than were native Belizeans and areas of
the country with a higher influx of such migrants had a larger percentage of
poor (Arenal and Cow Pen).
Most of the poor depended on the Agriculture
and Fishing Sector for their livelihood in Corozal, Orange Walk, Stann Creek and
Toledo and to a lesser extent in Cayo. In the Belize District, the poor depended
on a number of sectors, including Construction and Wholesale and Retail
Activities. As workers, the poor displayed a high level of labour commitment in
terms of the number of hours they were prepared to work. In Belize District and
in Cayo, the poor experienced high levels of unemployment, and especially so,
women in Belize District.
The poor were generally not well-educated and
lacked technical and vocational skills. Moreover, their young people were less
likely than the children of the non-poor to have had higher levels of education
and to be involved in technical training. While subsidies in education were
generally distributionally positive in a formal sense, the number of
beneficiaries was not commensurate with those in need.
The poor were more
likely to be afflicted with ailments especially in the South of the country,
where a higher incidence of water borne diseases was evident.
As much as
40.6 percent of the lowest quintile owned the lands on which their homes were
constructed. On the other hand squatting and 'other' forms of tenancy were the
dominant forms of arrangements in Toledo and Stann Creek, and included
'permission to work', indicative of communal patterns characteristic of the
Maya.
There was a high degree of home ownership, except in the Belize
District. The poor were more likely to live in dwellings with walls of wood, and
in Toledo, with thatch roofing and earthen floors.
Housing conditions of
the poor displayed certain characteristics. There were more persons per bedroom
than among the non-poor. Toilet facilities were of poor quality and, in Toledo,
41.2 percent had no toilet facilities whatsoever. Pit latrines remained the
dominant form of toilet facility across the country, but only 7.4 percent had
the ventilated pit latrine that has been promoted officially.
There was
also an apparent lack of sensitivity or knowledge among sections of the
population about the relationship between environmental sanitation and health.
Electricity was used for lighting even by the poor, except in Toledo, where 63.4
percent of the population was still dependent on kerosene. The poor were more
dependent on wood as a fuel for cooking than the non-poor.
In respect of
household durables, there was a high incidence of ownership of radios, even
among the poor. Even the poor in Belize District had a higher level of ownership
of television sets than the better off in Toledo and Stann Creek: this is
attributable, for the most part, to the problems of rural
electrification.
While their water supply was generally no worse than the
average for the country, there were major pockets of poor and even non-poor who
were dependent on untreated supplies from rivers and streams. The situation in
Stann Creek, Toledo and parts of Cayo was still very acute.
There was an
absence of community organisation in many of the villages, which exacerbated
poverty, since communities lacked the capacity to mobilise their own internal
resources for their development.
Box 1: Poverty Estimates for Belize |
Items |
Corozal |
Orange Walk |
Belize District |
Cayo |
Stann Creek |
Toledo |
All Belize |
Poor Households |
20.3 |
21.0 |
18.6 |
33.5 |
16.1 |
47.6 |
25.3 |
Poor Population |
26.7 |
24.9 |
24.5 |
41.0 |
26.5 |
57.6 |
33.0 |
Indigent Households |
5.9 |
2.9 |
4.9 |
15.9 |
2.2 |
40.2 |
9.6 |
Indigent Population |
8.7 |
5.0 |
6.5 |
19.7 |
5.1 |
47.2 |
13.4 |
Youth Population |
25.6 |
27.5 |
21.1 |
41.1 |
19.7 |
50.0 |
31.6 |
Elderly Population |
19.4 |
44.0 |
19.7 |
30.6 |
14.3 |
45.5 |
27.6 |
Female Population |
27.3 |
25.6 |
25.4 |
39.8 |
28.9 |
56.3 |
33.1 |
Male Population |
26.0 |
24.2 |
23.5 |
42.1 |
24.4 |
58.9 |
32.8 |
Male Heads |
17.6 |
17.0 |
12.4 |
36.3 |
13.2 |
50.7 |
23.6 |
Female Heads |
36.4 |
38.5 |
29.5 |
25.0 |
29.4 |
30.8 |
30.5 |
Box 2 : Poverty Profile-Belize |
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The annual Poverty Line and Indigence Line at the national
level were estimated at $1,287.48 and $751.32 respectively. At the
District level the Poverty Lines ranged from as low as $1,151.38 in Cayo
to $1,428.49 in Belize District. The Indigence Lines ranged from $633.64
in Stann Creek to $1,013.82 in Toledo. |
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25.3 percent of households and 33.0 percent of the
population were poor. The incidence of poverty was highest in the Toledo
District where 47.6 and 57.6 percent of households and individuals
respectively were poor. |
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9.6 percent of households and 13.4 percent of the population
were indigent in that their expenditure was unable to cover their dietary
requirements. The District of Toledo had the highest percentage of
indigent households and individuals with 40.2 and 47.2 percent
respectively. |
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23.6 percent of male heads and 30.5 percent of female heads
were poor. Poverty among male heads was highest in Toledo (50.7%) and
highest among female heads in Orange Walk (38.5%). |
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20.6 percent of the urban population and 42.5 percent of the
rural population were poor. |
| The Poverty Gap for the country was 8.7 percent. In Toledo
however, it was as high as 21.8 percent. The Poverty Gap was lowest in
Stann Creek (4.9%). |
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The poor dominated the Agricultural and Fishing sector with
49.4 percent in the lowest quintile. Their participation in Agriculture
and Fishing was particularly evident in Toledo and Stann Creek. |
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The lowest quintile had the highest number of children under
age 14 or 17 years, per household. The figures were 3.2 and 3.7 for under
14 and 17 years respectively. On a national average the highest number of
children per household was found in the Orange Walk District. |
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The three lowest quintiles spent 51.8, 49.3 and 46.8 percent
respectively of their monthly expenditure on food. |
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The national labour force participation rate was 58.7
percent. At the District level it was highest in Belize District (65.0%)
and lowest in Toledo (52.6%).The participation rate for males (87.4%) was
almost three times the rate of females (30.3%). |
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76.3 percent of heads of households had achieved no higher
than primary level education. In the lowest quintile Belize City had the
highest percentage of heads of households with secondary level education.
(16.7%). None of the heads in the lowest quintile in Orange Walk, Cayo and
Stann Creek had secondary level education. |
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There was little evidence generated of subsidies to
education. The number of beneficiaries from these subsidies was extremely
small. |
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Births to teenage mothers in Belize is estimated at 20
percent. Family planning services are not adequately utilised by a large
percentage of households in the poorer communities. |
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There was a general problem of solid waste management
throughout Belize. Problems of drainage were especially evident in Belize
District and St. Martin de Porres, specifically. |
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4.6 percent of all households had no toilet facilities. This
problem was most acute in Toledo where in the two lowest quintiles 41.2
and 23.5 percent respectively had no toilet facilities. |
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On average, 65.8 percent of households owned land on which
accommodation was located. Squatting was most evident in Toledo. Forty
percent (40.6 %) of the lowest quintile owned land. |
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24 percent of the poorest quintile had access to public
water. Rivers and streams were still a main source of water for 2.6
percent of the population. In Toledo 2.9 and 23.5 percent of the first and
second quintiles respectively and in Stann Creek 9.1 percent and 16.7
percent respectively got water from this source. |
Both the poor and non-poor lived in their own
dwellings. Houses owned by the poor were however, in a very dilapidated
condition. Dissatisfaction with housing conditions was stressed in the
poor communities of Cow Pen, Flowers Bank, Hopkins and Santa
Elena. |
CAUSES OF POVERTY
The
poverty witnessed in Belize currently can be attributed to the following
factors:
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The historical underdevelopment especially of the South
of the country. Deep-seated structural problems of transformation have
kept the population of parts of the country locked in poverty for some
considerable period. A subsistence economy, a traditional culture, and the
absence of infrastructure have retarded the development of the South of
the country. |
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The substantial influx of poor immigrants. Central
American immigrants, who have no capital, are poorly educated, and lack
skills, partly contribute to the increase in unemployment,
under-employment, and poverty, especially in Cayo and Toledo. Belize, as a
signatory of the CIREFCA Agreement, agreed to host Central American
refugees. Moreover, given the level of poverty in neighbouring countries,
Belize provides an irresistible allure to those seeking escape from
economic and social deprivation. The porous borders offer no barrier, with
the result that Belize has suffered an uncontrolled influx that has
strained its social and other services. |
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The recent changes in the international economy have had
an impact on the main foreign exchange earners. NAFTA and the
emergence of keener competition in the Caribbean in export-processing are
the most recent, but there are other imminent problems with the
liberalisation of trade, the reduction of preferences, and the advances in
technology, that erode the advantages of low wages as a factor in
export-processing operations, all these factors have reduced or are
reducing the competitiveness of Belize. |
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Deficiency in human resource development. Lack of
training and educational upgrading has inhibited the development of skills
in Belize, thereby constraining the flexibility of the work-force in
adjusting to changes in the international economy by a shift of the
industrial structure to new activities. |
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Difficulty in resolving macro-economic problems.
Increased public debt in the recent past had not led to an expansion in
productive infrastructure to encourage private investment, and to absorb
unemployed and underemployed. Slow pace of tax reform resulted in missed
opportunity to increase government revenue required for infrastructure
expansion. Meanwhile, debt service led to reduction of employment and
expenditure on and services in Education and Health, with a negative
impact on the poor. |
The above five factors are
largely responsible for the existing poverty identified, but are compounded by a
host of additional factors, the most critical of which are enumerated
hereunder.
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Poor income and employment generation in key productive
sectors. Subsistence agricultural/milpa production, mainly in Toledo,
kept farmers in a low level equilibrium trap, while, outside of bananas
and citrus, commercial agriculture had not generated any major expansion
of productive employment. Belize suffered reduced competitiveness in
export-manufacturing vis a vis its neighbours. Tourism, while
growing, did not display strong backward linkages to other sectors e.g.
Domestic Craft Production, and Agriculture. In all these areas, there was
an absence of credit and other supporting facilities that could be used by
small and informal enterprises. |
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Rapid Population Growth. The absence of a population
policy contributed to a lack of focus in dealing with the rapid population
growth, immigration, and family planning. |
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The limitations of the existing safety-net because of the
inadequacy of resources. The fiscal problems prevented the Government
from providing a safety-net with the reach and the quantum to assist those
who had succumbed to poverty. |
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Limitations in the physical infrastructure. Poor
access roads constrained farm-to-market links for agriculture, which is
the critical sector for the rural population. Lack of communications,
absence of potable water, inadequate electricity supplies, inadequate
facilities for human waste disposal, all contribute to major deficiency in
the infrastructure which is necessary for poverty reduction. |
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Weaknesses in the social infrastructure. The high
reproduction rate and dependency ratio strain the social services. High
teenage pregnancy in Belize City, and lack of day-care and pre-school
facilities prevent young females from participation in the labour market,
and in training. |
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Gaps in the institutional infrastructure. There were
weaknesses in the regulatory framework and governance over land use
policy, physical planning, local government and community
representation. |
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Poor community organisation. The absence of effective
community organisation and integration robs many communities of the
capacity to address their own problems.
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Effectiveness of Existing Responses to the
Poverty Situation
The Government of Belize has found it necessary to
undertake stringent and unpopular measures to resolve its fiscal problems lest
these contribute to a major balance-of-payment crisis. It has sought to effect
this without a formal stabilisation/structural programme of the IFIs. Its broad
brush expenditure reduction has, unfortunately, hurt some social services, and
impaired the safety-net.
The expansion of the infrastructure is a key
factor in the development of the south of the country where very high levels of
poverty were identified. Under the supervision of the Ministry of Works there
has been a substantial expansion of the infrastructure of the highway system
especially in the south of the country. This has helped to bring many remote
communities more into the mainstream of Belize society and economy. There is a
shortage of funding for access roads, however.
The Ministry of Transport
and Communications provides the regulatory framework for passenger transport by
bus, which is the main form of internal communication. Its policy of controlling
fares may have restricted operators to the routes with heavy passenger loads, to
the disadvantage of more remote communities that have no service whatsoever,
thus increasing their isolation.
The Belize Electricity Company provides
electricity service to all Belize. The partial privatisation of the utility puts
in doubt the likelihood of service to the remote communities in the south.
Profitability indicators would not make their needs evident.
The
requirement of agricultural diversification is recognised, and is taking place
to a limited degree. Aguacate Rice Farmers, the Bee-keepers, and the Seeds of
Change Project are good examples, but their efforts are subject to policy
reversal in the absence of a structured diversification plan.
There is a
range of services in support of the diversification thrust needed e.g.
marketing, but the host of difficulties attendant on infrastructure bedevils the
efforts of the Ministry of Agriculture given that many of the problems are
beyond its control and require coordination with other Ministries. Many of these
are similarly strapped for funds and cannot make commitments.
Land use is
another area in which there has not been full clarity. In respect of land
distribution, the Ministry of National Resources has the primary responsibility
for this function and is assisted by an Inter-ministerial Committee, in this
regard. There have been problems, however, with conflicts over boundaries in
allocations.
The Fisheries Department, with limited resources of
personnel and equipment, provides oversight over the Fishing Industry. It has
provided some coherence to the sector, however, over-exploitation remains a
problem. This industry has made a major contribution to income and employment
growth in parts of the country. Some communities, especially in the south, lack
the capacity to develop cooperatives which have been the successful industrial
organisation for exploitation of the Belizean fisheries. The south has not been
able to reduce its poverty through the industry.
The diversification of
the economy is premised on the development of the manufacturing sector. The
Ministry of Industry is attempting to encourage both domestic and foreign
capital, and in collaboration with other organisations like NDFB, the Ministry
is promoting the small scale sector. This should help small farmers and
agricultural communities attempting to diversify into
agro-processing.
Tourism/Eco-tourism has also been the focus of official
attention. The Ministry of Tourism, the Belizean Tourism Industry Board, the
Belize Hotel Association, and BEST are some of the agencies engaged in this
area. Through them the country has created a definable tourism niche. Small
establishments have benefited though not to the extent that is
possible.
The Education and Training/Retraining System lies at the base
of the capacity-building exercise required to upgrade the human resources of
Belize. The Ministry of Education, with the collaboration of school boards, has
been effective in providing basic primary level facilities across the country.
However, remote communities have not been well served, with the result that
largely poorer rural children are not receiving the kind of education that will
allow them to escape their current poverty. While secondary education is
subsidised by the Government, the private costs put it beyond the reach of many
of the poor.
A major gap in the system relates to the provision for
out-of-school youth and adult education. The fact that facilities are not well
distributed geographically means that access is inequitable. More recently there
has been established the Youth Enterprise Programme in the Department of Youth.
The programme has a focus on the relatively deprived and should help the poor.
In sum, however, the poorer youth have limited chances of recovering from
failure in their earlier years in the formal system.
The Ministry of
Health provides curative, preventive and promotional health services across the
country. The cut in the allocation to Health and the preempting of 25 percent of
the allocation by the Belize City Hospital have resulted in reduced services,
especially to the remote areas of the country, with implications for the
poor.
Up until recently, the Water and Sewerage Authority and the Rural
Water Supply and Sanitation Programme provided the public water network, and
promoted safe disposal of waste. The latter has recently been disbanded, a
victim of austerity measures. There is a major problem in some pockets of the
country in respect of potable water, and not only the poor are affected. Toilet
facilities are also an area of deficiency especially in the south with negative
implications for health. High incidence of water borne diseases is testimony to
the problem.
A number of agencies are involved in providing housing: The
Ministry of Housing, the Housing and Planning Department, RECONDEV, DFC,
commercial banks, credit unions, development NGOs, and BIMCO. A Housing Policy
Paper has been prepared and should allow for coordination. There is some
regressiveness in BIMCO's operations given that much of its inflows are
financing housing for the non-poor only.
The involvement of Government in
the area of entrepreneurship development has been quite limited. The effort in
the development of cooperatives has been stalled as a result of the funding for
the Cooperative Department in servicing communities. NGOs have made some
contribution especially with community based organisations. Hopkins Women's
Cooperative which runs a guest house, is an example of successful
entrepreneurship resulting from NGO initiative, which has enhanced income and
employment opportunities for women who would have been poorer
otherwise.
The Ministry of Human Resources, Refugees Department,
development NGOs, the Patriotism Committee, the Consciousness Youth Movement are
organisations that contribute to social integration and to the inculcation of
desirable social values in one way or another. Some have been effective with
marginalised communities, e.g. BEST, SPEAR, and HELP. The Patriotism Committee
does not seem to reach the more remote communities. The Consciousness Youth
Movement has been a major success in respect of the reorientation that it has
been able to cultivate in disenchanted youth in Belize City.
The
Department of Women's Affairs, the women's organisations, and the development
and welfare organisations have made a major impact in their work or in advocacy
and promotion of equity in gender relations. Through the Community Bank projects
of BEST, a number of community based enterprises have emerged out of these
efforts, providing opportunities for mainly poorer women e.g. Hopkins Women's
Group. Unfortunately, some of these organisations have been hit by funding
problems: BOWAND, BIB, BRWA. Sustainability is a problem, therefore, in the
fulfilment of gender equity.
The Ministry of Human Resources, CVSS, and
ANDA are the agents involved in the provision of a social safety-net, the first
in the provision of the official safety net of the Government, the others
through the support they give to households and individuals, especially the more
vulnerable. Resource and funding limitations have afflicted all three. Public
Assistance bears little relation to the needs of the poor who seek support from
the programme. The present safety-net offers little protection in a situation
where the restructuring of the Belizean economy will create new poor to join
those who had been unaffected by positive economic growth in the 1980s, or who
have been victims of structural poverty, that has affected especially the Toledo
District.
Recommendations
The expansion of the economy of
Belize is the key to poverty reduction. Incomes and employment for the poor can
be sustained only through the promotion of growth, which in the context of such
a small country, depends on the external competitiveness of the
economy.
Strategies for Poverty Reduction and
Alleviation
Expansion of Key Economic Sectors
Poverty
reduction, in the final analysis, is about the generation of resources.
Employment growth and income generation offer the most secure means of reducing
poverty. The promotion of Agriculture and Fishing, Manufacturing, and
Tourism/Eco-tourism, the provision of support for SMEs and the informal sector
are recommended through the implementation of specific policies and strategies
that allow the poor to participate effectively, with due regard for the
requirements placed on the Government in respect of regional and international
agreements.
A range of institutional supports will be necessary to allow
the sectors listed above to contribute to poverty reduction, credit, land
reform, fisheries protection, cooperative development and entrepreneurship
development, to list a few.
Capacity-building through Human Resource
Development
The flexibility and resilience of small open economies
are contingent or the adaptability of their human resources, and therefore on
the trainability and productivity of their workers. It is recommended that the
educational and training systems be revamped to allow for wider participation at
all levels, and to afford adults already in the work force, and out-of-school
youth an opportunity for training and retraining and educational upgrading at
different points in their work careers. Intra-firm training, technical and
vocational training, and retraining programmes for the range of productive
activities, along with youth development require the fullest support of
Government with the appropriate institutional mechanisms. The promotion of the
ethos of training and retraining by the Government is also
recommended.
Land Use Policy and Land Tenure
The
institutional structure relating to land use and to land tenure is an important
ingredient in the stimulation of expansion of the Agricultural Sector and must
be upgraded to ensure the sustainability of land and soil quality, to afford the
easier access of would-be farmers to land, and to improve tenurial arrangements
that allow farmers to derive benefits consistent with their efforts. At the same
time, communal and other traditional systems have to be respected where they
exist to avoid disruption and social dislocation to traditional groups like the
Maya.
Improvement of the Social Infrastructure
An
improvement in the social infrastructure of Belize, in respect of access to
potable water, safe toilet facilities, better housing, and effective primary
health care is recommended to ensure the possibility for the mass of people of
leading healthier and more productive lives which would, in turn, contribute to
material expansion, especially of the poor. There is need to upgrade the primary
health care delivery system through health centres and health
posts.
Expansion of the Physical Infrastructure
It is
recommended that the Government intensify its efforts to provide the
infrastructure which underpins private sector growth. Roads, access roads, piers
or jetties in fishing villages, electricity, communication and potable water are
some of the urgently needed infrastructure whose absence reduces the
attractiveness of many parts of the country.
Cooperative
Development
It is recommended that the Cooperative Development
Programme be intensified. Cooperatives have performed very effectively,
especially in the Fisheries Sector. The involvement in commercial fisheries of
villages in the south of the country, and the application of self-help in
housing seem to be early candidates for use of the cooperative model. The
experience of BEST in community banks would be a source also for useful insights
into what is appropriate in the social and economic structure of Belize.
Cooperatives may turn out to be a natural organisational structure to succeed
communal production systems for people with traditional cultures divergent from
the individualism of a capitalist market economy.
Empowerment of
Communities
It is recommended that the Government revamps its thrust
in Community Development, such that it can contribute more meaningful to the
social and economic empowerment of communities. In this regard, it should
collaborate and coordinate its efforts with development NGOs that have promoted
community banks, self-help, greater citizen involvement, and have brought a
gender focus to their work.
Building Social Consensus
The
ethos of cooperation is required among the social partners to allow Belize to
develop the social model to adjust its labour force to the imperatives of
technological and trade changes. It is recommended that the Government take a
lead role in this endeavour by ensuring that lines of communication are always
maintained, and by improving the level of economic literacy in the population at
large.
Reorganising the Social Safety-Net
It is recommended
that the social safety-net be redesigned so that key areas of vulnerability are
addressed as and when they manifest themselves. Capacity building should
complement poverty alleviation where there is the possibility that the
individual or household can be restored to income-earning capability on a
sustained basis. The aged, the infirm and others without secure source of income
and facing chronic poverty would need to be supported permanently.
It is
also recommended that the safety net be extended to the support of households
where no income is currently available and individuals lack the skills to secure
employment or to engage in self-employment. Temporary alleviation should be
provided for such situations, care being taken to avoid inculcating a dependency
syndrome in those who may need temporary assistance.
Reorganisation of
the Public Finances
The resources for much of the above will have to
come from the Government of Belize itself, both for poverty alleviation and for
the expansion necessary for poverty reduction. There is need to restructure the
tax system to increase the revenue yield, and to adjust public expenditure. VAT,
user charges, involvement of NGOs in social service delivery, productivity
improvement and tighter management within the operations of the Government are
some of the elements of the strategy.
Institutional Framework for
Poverty Assessment and Reduction
The National Assessment Team should
be institutionalised, retaining a structure that affords participation to NGOs
and CBOs. The focus of such an entity should always be poverty reduction and
alleviation. Poverty monitoring will ensure that the appropriate official and
other policies are adjusted in light of the changing realities. While poverty
assessment exercises of the type conducted herein will not be undertaken with
great frequency, the development of suitable indicators will allow the profile
of the poor to be adequately and effectively monitored.
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Maintained by Ray Auxillou, Silvia Pinzon, MLS, and Marty Casado. Please email with suggestions or additions for this Electronic Library of Belize.
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