Ministry of Social Transformation, Culture & Local Government

1. Ministry of Social Transformation, Culture & Local Government Social Development & Poverty Reduction

2. Country Profile

3. Map of St. Lucia

4. Country Profile • Area 238 sq mi 606 sq km • Population 164,213 • Life expectancy 73.3 years • Capital : Castries (60, 300) • Languages: English, French Creole • History 7 times French 7 times British • Government : Parliamentary Democracy

5. Ministry Profile Departments • Administration • Community Services • Day Care Services • Local Governmentt • Research Information & Programming • Social Agencies- • Poverty Reduction Fund • Cultural Development Foundation • Basic Needs Trust Fund • National Conservation Authority • BELfund

6. General StrategyPoverty Reduction Removing the root causes of social disintegration and exclusion, economic deprivation, marginalization and cultural alienation

7. Committment to Poverty Reduction The Government of Saint Lucia has clearly articulated its commitment to poverty reduction, as a key ingredient of equitable and sustainable development Consequently, Government has over the past few years established a number of policies and programmes and has instituted a number of measures aimed at mitigating the impacts of poverty on households and communities

8. Commencement of Response The process of developing an Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper and Action Plan finds its roots in the conduct of the poverty assessment in 1995 which highlighted the need for special attention and for a co-ordinated response to issues of poverty.

9. International Context The shift of emphasis towards poverty issues within international organisations began in the late 1990s, under the leadership of UN organisations, particularly UNICEF and UNDP. The World Summit on Human Development held in Copenhagen in 1995 established poverty reduction as a global development priority. In recent years, the World Bank (WB) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) have also placed poverty reduction at the centre of their policies and programmes, requiring developing countries to formulate Poverty Reduction Strategies as a condition of their participation in World Bank and International Monetary Fund sponsored programmes towards poverty and debt reduction.

10. Commitment to Poverty Reduction Government has demonstrated its commitment to poverty reduction, notably through the following policies, measures and actions: • Integration of poverty concerns into the policies and programmes of relevant ministries and statutory bodies, and particularly in the education and health sectors. • Creation of a Ministry of Social Transformation vested with the responsibility of poverty reduction, and strengthening of its programme delivery capacity. • Initiation and strengthening of poverty reduction institutions and programmes, i.e. BNTF, BELfund and PRF, with substantial allocations of funds to their activities. • Implementation of the Short-Term Employment Programme (STEP), and placement of this programme within the National Conservation Authority (NCA). • Increase in the budget allocated to Public Assistance. • Implementation of the Social Recovery Programme, with funding from the European Commission through its Special Framework of Assistance (SFA) • Design and implementation of a number of other public sector initiatives aimed at increasing employment and income generation opportunities for the poor.

11. Macro-economic context • The economy of Saint Lucia is an economy in transition. This transition is primarily the result of a changing global environment, and of the dramatic impacts that these changes have had on banana export earnings, tourism and manufacturing. The economy remains largely dependent and open, with a significant contribution of goods and services (both import and export) to the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Foreign exchange earnings come primarily from agriculture and tourism, with a smaller contribution from manufacture. Most of the goods consumed locally are imported. During the past decade, the export of goods has declined from 35% to 17% of GDP, while the provision of services has increased from 20% to 35% of GDP. These figures illustrate the fact that the economy has been radically transformed, and that traditional sectors have lost much of their relative importance.

12. Volatility of Economy • Another important feature of the economy is its volatility, i.e. marked period-to-period variations in measures of macro-economic performance such as the GDP. GDP growth averaged 7% in the 1980s, followed by low rates of growth in the early 1990s (average 1.3% between 1993 and 1997), improvements in 1998 (3.07%) and 1999 (3.1%) as a result of growth in construction, tourism and financial services, then a downturn in 2000 (0.2%), significant contraction (-4.6%) in 2001 and a marginal recovery (0.1%) in 2002

13. Human Development Index The overall Human Development Index for Saint Lucia was .728 in the Human Development Report of 2000, placing the country in 88th position among 174 countries. As such, Saint Lucia is among the countries with medium human development status, as are most of the independent Caribbean nations, except Barbados and the Bahamas on the one hand (ranked as 30th and 33rd) and Haiti on the other extreme. The Human Development Index (HDI) is based on three main sets of measurements: life expectancy and health, knowledge and education, and GDP per capita.

14. Poverty Defined For the purpose of the country poverty reduction strategy, poverty is defined as a situation where individuals, households and communities are deprived of financial resources and spending power. At the same time, poverty must also be understood as a situation where these individuals, households and communities do not have: • access to basic social services, notably water, sanitation, health and education; • natural, financial and physical assets, including physical belongings, access to land, savings, tools and equipment, and other means of production; • security and safety, including protection from economic shocks, natural disasters and human sources of impact, e.g. pollution, or industrial and transportation accidents; • dignity, respect, self-esteem and cultural identity; • autonomy, capacity of choice and opportunities to participate in mainstream development processes.

15. Item Percentage Poor households Poor population Indigent households Indigent population Youth population in poverty Elderly population in poverty Urban households in poverty Rural households in poverty Urban population in poverty Rural population in poverty 18.7 25.1 5.3 7.1 23.8 19.5 11.7 22.5 16.3 29.6 Poverty Status1995 Country Poverty Assessment The 2005 CPA is currently in progress

16. Complementary Policy Processes The Poverty Reduction Strategy and Action Plan should therefore be seen as a complement to other policy processes and documents, notably: • Medium-Term Development Strategy Paper 2002 – 2006 (drafted, to be considered by Cabinet) • Education Sector Development Plan (approved) • Health Sector Reform Proposals and Plans (approved) • National Youth Policy (approved) • National Sports Policy (approved) • National Cultural Policy (approved) • Population Policy (drafted, to be considered by Cabinet) • National Policy on Agriculture (drafted,) • National Water Policy (in preparation) • National Land Policy (in preparation) • Social Policy on Human Development

17. Developing PRSPs: The Case of St. Lucia • Rationale for developing PRSPs • The Process • The Outcome • The Challenges

18. Rationale for Developing PRSPS • Gosl commitment to combatting Poverty • Critical importance of poverty issues –the many faces of poverty • New role of MOST • Requirement of donor agencies – Pre – condition for BNTF 5 • NOTE: • All of these factors converged at the same time • Without all of these factors the outcome, ie. The PRSP may not have materialised. • Each of these factors have had varying influences on the nature and scope of the strategy paper.

19. The Process • Establishment of a multi – disciplinary Technical working group (TWG) in April 2002 • Recruitment of a consultant in July 2002 to facilitate the development of the PRSP Document. • Review by consultant and TWG of past consultations, literature, statistical data etc. • Convening of focus Group sessions (Oct – Nov, 2002) examining three critical areas: • Urban Poverty • Small and micro-business development • Land tenure and agricultural production • Conduct of meetings/workshops (7) with development practitioners in (Oct-Nov, 2002)

20. The Process Cont. • Convening of a national consultation (Nov 2001-2002) • Main conclusions of the analysis of poverty were presented • Overall strategic directions were identified • Specific needs, programmes and activities recomended. • An ‘interim’ strategy and action plan prepared • Why interim? - Shortcomings recognised • Need for additional research • Need for wider consultation and participation • Need for capacity building • An overall broader framework needed to be detailed – this is a process not a document

21. The Process Cont. • Conduct of meetings/Workshops (7) with development practitioners (Oct-Nov, 2002)

22. The Outcome • Main features of PRSP • A vision • Targets • Strategic objectives • Strategic directions • Specific objectives

23. A Vision • Developmental imperatives relating to the pursuit of : • Justice • Equality • Social Inclusion • Equity • Sustainability • Efficiency • Holistic approaches that aim at building human and social capital. • Need for a National Social Development policy to secure as the framework for the poverty reduction strategy.

24. Targets of Poverty Reduction • Use of MGDs as general guides • Focused on the needs and priorities of St. Lucia • But will also seek to promote a regional approach to poverty reduction and social development as much as is possible • Identification of 7 major goals to be achieved by 2015. • Eradicate extreme poverty • Achieve universal primary education • Promote gender equality • Improve health • Ensure environmental sustainability • Establish good governance (Note: refer to table on pg 46-47of (IPRSAP)

25. Strategic Objectives • The provision of sustainable economic opportunities, at both the macro and micro levels, in a manner that benefits all sectors of society, including the poor. • The empowerment of people and communities, the inclusion of the concerns of poor people in institutions and organisations, and the promotion of social integration, individual self-esteem and cultural identity. • The promotion of universal access to health, education, water and sanitation, and the protection of vulnerable individuals and groups.

26. Strategic Directions • Provide an enabling policy environment. • Develop the macro-economic framework. • Sustain and develop livelihoods and production capacity as well as employment and revenue generation opportunities. • Promote human and social integration, remove social barriers and build social institutions. • Guarantee, secure and improve access by the poor/vulnerable to basic services. • Build capacity and increase effectiveness and efficiency, improve governance.

27. Specific ObjectivesRefer to table on page 48 of 1PRSAP Along these six strategic goals, the following specific objectives will be pursued.

28. The Way Forward And Challenges • We have moved from 1PRSP to a Social Policy for Human Development but this this requires further refinement and research to integrate other key elements: • Local governance • Social protection policy, strategies and programs • Social cohesive and social inclusion • Need for the development of a research Monitoring and Evaluation framework: • Compilation of current M&E protocols frameworks and activities • Identification of specific targets and indicators applicable to the strategy • The development of partnerships with the relevant research agencies at the regional and international level to assist with the implementation of a comprehensive research programe

29. The Way Forward And Challenges Cont. • Transforming the 1PRSP into a ‘working document’ • Arguable the biggest challenge • Development of an Action Plan that articulates: • Specific programmes/interventions • Implementing agencies and associated responsibilities • Time frames for implementation • Associated costs • Important for all agencies, both traditional and non traditional, implementing to and donors ‘buy in’ to the plan.

30. Thank You

31. New Initiatives • YEP project • BERU • National Enrichment & Learning Prog • CoRIC Programme

32. Conclusion – The St. Lucia Experience • The process has had its deficiencies • The extent to which it has been donor driven • Level of counsultation and participation with stakeholders • Extent to which it has become a working document • But overall it has been beneficial to us • Raised the profile of ‘poverty reduction’ within the overall development agenda. • It has initiated a process of dialogue and consultation that can be continued • It has provided impetus for the emergency of key institutions and agencies (eg. MOST, PRF and BNTF) • Has provided a documented framework for continued action and support by all stake holders