The Tribune

BY RICARDO WELLS

CITIZENS For Justice claim that families are being destroyed as a result of increasing poverty and have called on the government to address the high cost of living and of doing business in the Bahamas to avoid unemployment.

Bishop Walter Hanchell, the chairman of the group, called for “out of the box” thinking to reduce poverty and initiate “empowerment programmes”, saying they are “disappointed” by statistics but are not “shocked” by the recent results of a poverty survey. The Tribune reported in June that in two years the number of Bahamians living below the poverty level has increased from 9.2 per cent to 12.5 per cent and households living in poverty jumped from 5.3 per cent in 2001 to 8.7 per cent in 2013.

”The excuse that no money is available to provide programmes for this very vulnerable segment of our society is totally unacceptable,” Bishop Hanchel said this week, adding “the country needs a systematic plan of action to reduce poverty. We must now think out of the box and initiate empowerment programmes, the creation of small businesses and job opportunities for the unemployed.”

Bishop Hanchell argued that poverty and its adverse effects on the Bahamas are not being dealt with “expeditiously”, claiming “we will continue to see increased crime and many other social ills impacting our nation”.

“We have had lip service for too long while our people suffer as a result of the reduction of poverty not being a priority of both the present and past administrations. The Bahamas has vast financial resources and there is absolutely no reason why poverty in the Bahamas cannot be eliminated,” he asserted.

Citizens for Justice also expressed concerned “that the most devastating effect of poverty has taken its toll on our young people which has the highest rate of unemployment in the country. Each year thousands of high school graduates are added to the unemployed list and eventually the poverty list and nothing has been done to address this crisis.”

He added: “Our present educational system, which leaves much to be desired, has contributed to the increase of poverty in t he Bahamas by graduating a large number of illiterate students over the past 25 years. The system has failed miserably and needs to be revamped.”

Bishop Henchell said that poverty is an issue that can no longer be overlooked or ignored. “The plight of the middle class needs attention. Bahamians are losing their homes and being evicted from their rental units and something must be done to rescue our youth from the clutches of poverty.”

Government officials recently stated that the results of the poverty survey will be vital in the implementation of social programmes and the formulation of national policies.