Prime Minister Bruce Golding has said that getting the economy back on a path of growth is what will rescue Jamaicans from poverty.
Making his contribution to the Budget Debate in Parliament on Tuesday, Golding said that the Government will do everything possible to facilitate and accelerate that growth and that this is an area of focus for his Administration.
“The increase in the poverty level is directly attributed to the decline in the economy, loss of jobs and the significant drop in remittances in 2009. The impact of these factors has been mitigated by the provision of increased benefits through PATH (Programme for Advancement Through Health and Education) the allocation for which has been increased from $1.7 billion in 2007 to over $4.0 billion this year. Even after allowing for inflation, this represents a real increase of more than 60 per cent” the prime minister explained.
He added that increased welfare provisions can only do so much to ease poverty but the Government will be concentrating on reducing poverty.
Source: Jamaica Observer
MAY
2011
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