MINISTER: POVERTY IS ENEMY OF PROGRESS

“It is possible for us to move the country forward free of anti-social barriers,” including barriers of race and class, asserted Joan Yuille Williams, Minister in the Ministry of Community Development and Gender Affairs. Williams was the feature speaker at a conference on Monday 21st July at the Office of the Attorney General which marked the signing of funding agreements by the Community Development Fund (CDF) and the launch of the John John Community Enhancement and Regeneration Programme. She remarked that she experienced a sense of pleasure and enjoyment from the “feeling of partnership and commitment” derived from the concerted efforts of the communities alongside the funding agencies. The principles of “commitment, care, collaboration and partnership” were clearly adopted, she said, with each group working towars poverty alleviation and the elimination of its ills. She indicated that the Social Sector Co-ordinating Committee chaired by the Prime Minister has examined in excess of 120 projects and a poverty alleviation and social services sub-committee has been established.  This committee includes among its aims the creation of profiles of the poor, examination of income and expenditure patterns, examination of gender inequity, development of research to evaluate and monitor poverty, analysis of how poverty relates to crime and the tracking of global trends.

Williams asserted that poverty is “the enemy of progress” which “enslaves” and “dehumanizes,” and advised that communities should “let poverty be a motivator to enfranchisement and success rather than depression.” The John John Community Enhancement and Regeneration Programme involves the transformation of the site known as the Spree Simon park under the creative direction of architect Andrew Mc Farlane. The project is not merely about the park alone, Mc Farlane said, but “the enhancement of a way of life and a continued way of life.” The design includes a sunken water feature, a proposed cafe, platforms for statues, easily maintained hard and soft surfaces, a small amphitheatre area, a barbecuing area, ficus plants and other forms of landscaping. Safety and convenience are key design factors as apparent in the safety rubber mats under swings, the stainless steel benches that will not peel like painted benches, a superintendant’s unit with first aid supplies, ramps for the disabled and a toddlers’ pit filled with air-balls.