POVERTY AND THE ELECTRICITY RATE INCREASE

MORE than a third of the citizens of Trinidad and Tobago are living in poverty, and things are getting worse.

The electricity rate increase would add to the financial misery of the 38 per cent of citizens, who, according to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), exist in “multidimensional poverty.”

The Ministry of Social Development and Family Services claims to have reduced poverty to less than 15 per cent of the population but the anecdotal evidence suggests otherwise.

The costs of food staples have risen by up to 100 per cent since 2018, according to an analysis of a basket of essentials.

The prices of some items, like beans, rice, meat, eggs, cereals and dairy, have gone up every year, because of international factors, such as climate change, the Covid-19 shutdown, and the Ukrainian-Russian war.

T&T is now importing $7.3 billion worth of food a year, compared to $4 billion a decade ago.

Agriculture contributes less than two per cent of the gross domestic product, and the much-touted Caribbean food plan is still empty talk in T&T.

Five recent fuel prices have sent up the cost of transportation.

Pharmaceutical costs have gradually increased since a monopoly took control of medicine imports a couple of years ago.

The elderly and infirm are paying an average of 20 per cent more for over-the-counter items.

There are frequent complaints of shortages of Chronic Disease Assistance Programme (CDAP) drugs, and Health Minister Terrence Deyalsingh said there is increased financial allocation in the 2024 Budget.

The monopoly pharmaceutical importer has just announced a 55 per cent hike in profit, to add to other recent higher gains.

Central Bank data also show increases in the costs of housing and other aspects of daily living, including school books, clothing and footwear.

While the Government claims 3.7 per cent unemployment based on outmoded Central Statistical Office data, evidence on the ground indicates high joblessness and under-employment.

An independent labour consultant said the figure is skewed because employers are not mandated to report terminations and retrenchments of fewer than five workers.

The critical energy sector now employs 8,200 workers, compared to 22,500 in 2015.

Several energy professionals have fled to oil capitals, including Guyana, Texas and Saudi Arabia.

Experts say that sectors dominated by women have been severely hit by the pandemic and the overall declining state of the economy.

In the small business and informal sectors, there have been reductions in employment and in work hours, according to university labour experts.

Some public sector workers have accepted four per cent salary increases for long-expired collective agreements, going as far back as 2014.

In an effort to tantalise struggling workers, Finance Minister Colm Imbert announced a payout in time for Christmas shopping.

The Public Services Association, the only hold-out on the four per cent deal, has since faced protests from some members who are anxious to pocket the Christmas payout.

The United Nations-proclaimed International Day for the Eradication of Poverty was recently observed, and the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services issued a highly bureaucratic message.

Minister Donna Cox did not identify any new action to lift the struggling thousands out of poverty and empower them to put food on the table and improve their health.

But the ministry’s statement dared to quote secular saint Nelson Mandela, who said: “Overcoming poverty is not a gesture of charity but an act of injustice.”

The UNDP tells of “the intensity of deprivation” in T&T, an indication of the large number of vulnerable citizens.

That condition is likely to worsen with heavier light bills.