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Archive -End of Year Issue

Office of the Secretary of State for Poverty Alleviation: |30 December 2017

 

 

 

The social eye of government and the voice of the poor

 

In October 2016, President Danny Faure created the Office of the Secretary of State for Poverty Alleviation. This first office of this kind was placed under the responsibility of Secretary of State Dick Esparon. Its creation followed the publication of two income survey results – one conducted in 2013 and the other in 2015 – which had classified almost 40% of Seychellois as poor. While other institutions such as the Agency for Social Protection (ASP) already existed with the aim of helping the most vulnerable out of poverty, the Office of the Secretary of State for Poverty Alleviation has for the last year been acting as the eye of government by identifying people living in dire conditions and being their ears by alerting relevant agencies and collaborating with them. This is being done through an innovative approach which touches not only revenue, but all the dimensions of poverty.

 

Identifying the poor:

Poverty profiling surveys:

The survey has already been done in the Central 2 Region of Mahé (districts of Mont Fleuri, Plaisance, Les Mamelles and Roche Caiman) which with a rate of 52% was identified as Seychelles poorest region by the 2013 and 2015 surveys.

The profiling is now ongoing in the East-South region (Cascade, Pointe Larue, Anse Aux Pins, Au Cap, Anse Royale and Takamaka). It will be done in the other regions (West, Central 2, North and Inner Islands) during the first half of 2018.

 

Public clinics

The Office of the Secretary of State for Poverty Alleviation has a wide open door policy which is welcoming especially to poor people, who come to voice their difficulties. Those clinics conducted by the Secretary of State are officially done once a week. In practical terms however, this is done every day as nobody who turns up is turned down. In this way, on average ten persons or families are listened to and eventually assisted per week.

 

Community visits

The clinic and meeting with the concerned individuals and families are followed by a home visit which is as far as possible done the following day. The visit and interaction with family members permit an onsite evaluation of the situation and the determination of the poverty dimensions. This is followed by the elaboration of a report which also includes intervention recommendations from the Secretary of State for Poverty Alleviation.

 

Rapid Response Team

The Office of the Secretary of State for Poverty Alleviation has also put into place a Rapid Response Team which as soon as a poverty red flag is raised, makes an in-depth evaluation of the case. This involves home visits and interviews of the persons concerned, after which they submit their recommendations to the Secretary of State. The Rapid Response Team comprises representatives of the Department of Social Affairs, Property Management Company (PMC), Red Cross Society of Seychelles and Environmental Health.

 

Collaboration with partner institutions and agencies

During its one year of existence, the Office of the Secretary of State for Poverty Alleviation has succeeded in establishing itself as the central structure in poverty alleviation. This has permitted a close collaboration with executing institutions, ministries and agencies. These include:

The Office of the President

In cases of real emergency or multidimensional poverty which necessitate urgent actions, the report is directly sent to the President of the Republic – under which directly falls the Office of the Secretary of State for Poverty Alleviation - for immediate intervention. It is otherwise sent to the entities directly concerned with the situation. They include: Ministry of Family Affairs; Agency for Social Protection (ASP); Department of Housing and Infrastructure; Housing Finance Company (HFC); Property Management Corporation (PMC); Department of Local Government; Seychelles Police; Department of Employment; Ministry of Youth, Sports and Culture; National Youth Council; Ministry of Education; Ministry of Health; Land Waste Management Agency (LWMA); Non-Governmental Organisations (NGOs) - (Red Cross, SIFCO, Committee for Awareness, Resilience and Education (CARE), National Council for Children (NCC), Fathers’ Association, Lasosiasyon pour Latrankilite ek Lape etc.)

 

A different and innovative approach

The fact that different partners are collaborating with the Office of the Secretary of State for Poverty Alleviation shows that poverty is being tackled in all its aspects. This is part of an innovative approach which involves:

 

A multidimensional approach/touching all poverty dimensions

The multidimensional approach permits to touch all poverty dimensions as follows: Revenue poverty, employment poverty, housing poverty, infrastructure poverty (lack of facilities), health poverty (people suffering from one or more form of disease), education poverty (children not attending school), child poverty (neglected children), spiritual poverty, poor sanitation, social ills (drug use, alcohol abuse and prostitution).

 

A targeted approach

The targeted approach permits to act directly with/on the person or family in need with interventions best suited to them.

 

Rapid intervention

The innovative approach also calls for rapid intervention. As examples, following the clinics, community visits and elaborations of reports, some individuals/families have been assisted by the Agency for Social Protection (ASP) on the very next day. Other cases such as water or electricity disconnection and social assistance have been solved from within 5 to 7 days. 16 households with dilapidated housing conditions have been proposed a new home within one month after President Danny Faure received the report.

 

1-2-1 Coaching Programme

The targeted approach involves a 1-2-1 (one to one) Coaching Programme where as from early 2018, individuals or families will benefit from the direct assistance of a mentor in their areas of need. A pool of professionals has already been identified for the programme. It includes social workers, teachers, school counsellors and other social related professionals. The 1-2-1 Coaching Programme will also help those who have been pulled out of poverty not fall in the trap again.

 

Involving the poor

In the future, it is planned that people who have been pulled out of poverty can be also part of the 1-2-1 Coaching Programme. The Office of the Secretary of State for Poverty Alleviation believes that the poor, or those who have experienced poverty, are better placed to help their fellow citizens out of the trap. Thus, the importance of their involvement in alleviating poverty.

 

Other programmes

Corgat Estate Task Force

The Corgat Estate Task Force was commissioned by President Danny Faure in February this year, after a visit to the Mont Fleuri sub-district. Its mission is to help reduce the poverty level in Corgat Estate. The Task Force which regroups various key partners has been actively involved in reducing poverty dimensions through actions such as improving housing and sanitation conditions, controlling drug use and initiating dialogue with the community.

Although such a task force does not yet exist for other poverty-touched communities, the same actions have been initiated in other housing estates, like Les Mamelles.

 

Corgat Estate Sub-committee for Children and Youth

The sub-committee of the Corgat Estate Task Force has initiated actions with the aim of improving the lives of children and young people, not only in Corgat Estate, but in the whole Mont Fleuri area. Its composition includes representatives of the district’s primary and secondary schools, Ministry of Education, Employment Department, CARE and NCC.

 

National Poverty Consensus Forum

The role of the Forum which regroups top executives from key partner ministries and organisations is to come up with a National Anti-poverty Strategy.

 

Future programmes:

National Poverty Index

The national Poverty Index will be a data base of people living in poverty, the different dimensions of such and their causes. A direct result of the poverty profiling surveys, it will also provide figures on the number of people going into or out of poverty. The National Poverty Index will be a national tool on which all implementing agencies will be able to base their interventions.

 

Conclusion: Reducing poverty

The Poverty Profile Survey Done in the Central 2 region of Mahé has already permitted to identify about 130 households living in conditions of poverty. The identified households have been referred to relevant ministries and agencies for intervention.This added to an estimated over 50 households from other regions of Mahé which have been assisted over the year.

In a move to help increase efficiency, the Office of the Secretary of State for Poverty Alleviation will as from January 1, 2018 fall under the auspices of the Ministry for Family Affairs.

 

Contributed by Michel Paddy Savy

Office of the Secretary of State for Poverty Alleviation

 

 

 

 

 

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