‘How many people were lifted out of poverty through aid?’

Quratul-Ain Bandial
BANDAR SERI BEGAWAN

A LEGISLATIVE Council (LegCo) member yesterday questioned the success of state welfare programmes in alleviating poverty, saying financial aid to underprivileged families increased five-fold between 2010 and 2011 from $320 million to $1.7 billion.

Yang Berhormat Datin Paduka Hjh Salbiah Hj Sulaiman said the government has yet to disclose the number of families lifted out of poverty through state financial aid.

Without a concrete way to measure the effectiveness of government welfare assistance, the issue will continue to be raised over the years, she said during a sitting of the 11th Legislative Council yesterday.

“We have been told that the number of underprivileged has increased to 5,472 families, and it is not wrong to say, that this number will increase dramatically in the near future when government employees retire under the TAP and SCP schemes… the problem of poverty will be repeatedly raised in this House,” she said.

“I think success stories we have been waiting for are not concerning how many people are covered by the (welfare) programmes provided, but how many have been successfully removed from poverty.”

In order for welfare programmes to be effective, it requires not only a change in mindset by the people, but also by the state agencies responsible for welfare assistance, she said.

“As long as government agencies have a negative mindset and prejudice towards welfare recipients they will not be able to understand the psychology of such people and unable to formulate effective strategies,” she said.

“We think by providing financial assistance of $200 or $300 a month and by giving them skills training, they should be able to get out of poverty. Perhaps such methods are sufficient for those who have a strong drive to get out of poverty but for the multitude of people who have lived many years in a country known as the welfare state, this approach is only superficial,” she added.

YB Datin Hjh Salbiah said government agencies must formulate policies that would address the root of poverty and not just throw money at the problem.

She called for a review of all government strategies to reduce poverty, adding that Brunei could benefit from having social services centres and teams of dedicated social workers with the expertise to provide guidance to underprivileged families.

“I am aware that the issue of poverty contains serious and complex challenges… However, failure to address this will beget higher costs, such as the financial burden of financing welfare programmes, the cost of social problems caused by troubled youths, abandoned children, school drop-outs, unemployment and crime.”

With a sluggish economy and falling oil prices causing national oil and gas revenues to decline by 38 per cent, the increasing cost of welfare assistance concerns all parties, she added.


Sumber - The Brunei Times