David Ramjohn-Poverty Presentation (Edited) UWI 15Apr2015

Conference on Poverty and Opportunity: Creating Avenues for Advancement

Session 2: Template for creating Opportunities for getting out of poverty: Public sector and private sector perspective

Hosted by: The Sociology Unit of the Department of Behavioural Sciences, the University of the West Indies, St. Augustine Campus

April 15, 2015

PRIVATE SECTOR OPPORTUNITIES FOR CONTRIBUTING TO

NATIONAL EFFORTS AT REDUCING POVERTY

Prepared and Presented by:

David D. Ramjohn

Chief Executive Officer

Synergy Resources Limited

Presentation Outline

The Impact of Poverty

Current Interventions

Limitations

Private Sector Opportunities: Why should Business

be concerned?

Conclusion

©2015 Synergy Resources Limited


Goal 1 of the eight globally adopted United Nations Millennium Development Goals

(MDGs) is to “eradicate extreme poverty and hunger”.

Poverty impacts society in many different ways, including but not limited to: Crime Reduced ability to benefit from education or other State resources Social tension Increased substance abuse Increased demand for state welfare programmes Loss of potential of individuals to contribute to national productivity

In a world where some lucky few can afford to throw away food and clothing, we

as a society should be more concerned about our moral obligations to help those in

need rather than debate whether or not we should help.


Source: Polak, Paul, & Warwick, Mal. (2013). Business Solution to Poverty: Designing Products and Services for Three

Billion New Customers. (1st ed., 264p). Berrett-Koehler.


Most significant yet unquantifiable loss to society:

HUMAN POTENTIAL


Source: National Report: Trinidad and Tobago. A civil society review of progress towards the Millennium Development

Goals in Commonwealth countries. (2013). Commonwealth Foundation. p. 7.


Different perspectives on progress towards MDG 1


“The money value of available income support [from the State] for low-income households vastly exceeds the poverty line.”

Support

Instruments

H/Hold 1 H/Hold 2 H/Hold 3 H/Hold 4 H/Hold 5

$0 $0< 500 <$ 1,500 < $1,000 < $1,000

Total monthly

benefits ($TT)

5,254.3 6,354.3 3,623.3 5,298.6 5,575.3

ANNUAL TOTAL

SUPPORT ($TT)

63,051.6 76,251.6 43,479.6 63,583.2 66,903.6

2008 POVERTY LINE = TT$815 per adult per month

Source: Theodore, Karl and Ewan Scott (2008). Income poverty and state support in Trinidad and Tobago: the case for

alignment. Department of Economics-Conference on the Economy (COTE). Presentation at University of the West Indies, St.

Augustine.


State Support for Low-Income Households

N.B: Estimates of population living below the poverty line vary but most agree that the figure is

approximately 20%. (Kedir and Sookram, 2013, estimate 22%)

Limitations

Data: How reliable are the data that inform policies? Are we measuring poverty in

the most accurate and meaningful way?

Access to or Delivery of Services: Education, Health, Energy, Transportation,

Sanitation, Potable Water

State Support: Equitable? Means-tested? Appropriately Distributed? Achieving

desired outcomes? Properly monitored and evaluated?

Cross-functional Solutions: not just about handouts, but about improving access to

and delivery of services. Creating a mechanism to wean participants off the State

resources towards self-dependence.

Gender Perspectives: Women as key element in eradicating poverty (Grameen Bank:

>90% of borrowers are women)

Crime: Cause or Effect? Does poverty induce crime or vice versa?

Legislative and policy framework: Top-down or Bottom-up Approach?

The Poor: Burden or Resource?

Efficacy of State Interventions: e.g. education, are we training for the workforce we

need? Do we have “underemployment” when individuals qualify yet are unable to

find jobs in their area of training?


Private Sector Opportunities

Why eradicating poverty is good for business…

Source: Polak, Paul, & Warwick, Mal. (2013). Business Solution to Poverty: Designing Products and Services for Three

Billion New Customers. (1st ed., 264p). Berrett-Koehler.



Source: UN Millennium Project. 2005. Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the

Millennium Development Goals. New York


Where is the money going to come from?Financial Innovation.


The UN Global Compact asks companies to embrace, support and enact, within their sphere of influence, a set

of core values in the areas of human rights, labour standards, the environment and anti-corruption through the

adoption and practice of TEN PRINCIPLES:

Human Rights

Principle 1: Businesses should support and respect the protection of internationally proclaimed human

rights; and

Principle 2: make sure that they are not complicit in human rights abuses.

Labour

Principle 3: Businesses should uphold the freedom of association and the effective recognition of the right

to collective bargaining;

Principle 4: the elimination of all forms of forced and compulsory labour;

Principle 5: the effective abolition of child labour; and

Principle 6: the elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.

Environment

Principle 7: Businesses should support a precautionary approach to environmental challenges;

Principle 8: undertake initiatives to promote greater environmental responsibility; and

Principle 9: encourage the development and diffusion of environmentally friendly technologies.

Anti-Corruption

Principle 10: Businesses should work against corruption in all its forms, including extortion and bribery.

Source: https://www.unglobalcompact.org/AboutTheGC/TheTenPrinciples/index.html <Accessed: 12April2015>


Participate in the UN Global Compact


Expand the Economic Pie through diversification of the economy

increasing productivity and creating jobs

“In a market-based economy, private firms contribute to poverty reduction through many channels. They reduce income poverty when productivity rises, job opportunities increase, and competition for workers drives up wages. By producing essential goods and services in large-scale production, they can also help to keep the price of essential goods and services down, increasing the real effective incomes of poor people...As firms grow, they provide a larger source of tax revenues to the government, which in turn supports increased public investments” (UN Millennium Project, 2005)

• Create employment opportunities in non-traditional economic activities utilizing non-

academic skills, e.g. in areas such as agriculture, aquaculture, performing arts, sporting

disciplines.

• Increase the human capital by hiring and training appropriately out of state-funded

programmes, e.g. CEPEP, URP



Service delivery through public-private partnerships

“A public-private partnership can combine the respective strengths of the private and public sectors. The private sector can leverage its advantages of greater efficiency, lower costs of distribution, and more complex delivery systems to reach new markets. The public sector can ensure universal access by providing financial support to subsidize impoverished households, thereby enabling private firms to enter large markets with guaranteed consumers” (UN Millennium Project, 2005)

• Develop new ideas and opportunities for PPPs recognizing that success

of PPPs will depend on: accountability; transparency; fairness;

appropriate regulatory and policy framework; monitoring and

evaluation.


Responsible corporate governance and citizenship



• Adopt the UN Global Compact;

• Adhere to international best practices for corporate governance and

citizenship;

• Provide accurate and timely data when required, e.g. TTEITI Initiative

“Another major element of sound corporate citizenship is to fight corruption. Corporations should refuse to pay bribes, especially in low-income countries where governments often struggle to strengthen the rule of law. Firms in extractive industries that operate in natural resource–rich developing countries have a special responsibility in this. The international oil companies have a particular responsibility to be transparent in their transactions with the government and local authorities, so that citizens can keep track of where the revenues are flowing” (UN Millennium Project, 2005)

Contributing to policy design



“The local private sector represents a key constituency whose responsible voice should be represented alongside others in major policymaking processes. National chambers of commerce can often lead in representing the voices of private firms. Often, they are supported by the valuable work of international business organizations, such as the International Chambers of Commerce…of course, the private sector has to be balanced with civil society and other communities. Since the private sector is capable of wielding tremendous influence in decision-making through its financial strength, national governments have an added responsibility of ensuring transparency and balancing interests in all public discussions relating to private sector development processes” (UN Millennium Project, 2005)

• Get involved in policy development and design as it relates to private

sector development and poverty eradication.

Advocacy for the Millennium Development Goals



“Since members of the private sector often have access to important channels of public debate, they can advocate the public investments needed to spur private economic activity, particularly in low-income countries. Domestically, private companies can have a big influence if they lobby publicly for improved infrastructure, better health services for their workers, and better education for the work force” (UN Millennium Project, 2005)

• Lobby for the promotion of programmes geared to achieve the MDGs

• Identify ways that business can create opportunities in alignment with

achieving the MDGs, e.g. human capital programmes, direct

investment where necessary.

Corporate philanthropy



“Philanthropy can also be in-kind—for example, through community partnerships and education and training. Private firms can invest heavily in the development needs of their local host communities through such partnerships, signaling a long-term commitment to the welfare of the host community…Corporations can also donate employee and management time to help public sector enterprises and governments design and implement projects. And they can contribute to developing local capacity by undertaking extensive training programs and contributing to the development of the local private sector” (UN Millennium Project, 2005).

• Targeted interventions of both direct (cash) and in-kind philanthropic

outreach programmes to benefit the poor and underprivileged.

• Include a scorecard for the MDGs in Corporate Social Responsibility

reporting.

AmCham Interventions:

Educate AmCham members and the wider population to allow:

increased human capital through education and training

integration into the productive workforce

understanding of the impact of poverty on society

meaningful dialogue on needs of affected population and mechanisms to eradicate

poverty

understanding of existing support mechanisms and how to access same

evaluation of the efficacy, predictability and equity of state resources and programmes

Contribute to the national conversations on legislative and policy framework development to

address issues relevant to poverty eradication.

Coordinate interventions of membership via annual programmes and events, e.g. National

Youth Productivity Forum, HSSE Conference and Exhibition.

Act as a measured, responsible and practical voice for public opinion on matters of public

concern.

Encourage the delivery of programmes that offer a “hand up” not a “hand out”.



Source: Nirad Tewarie, pers. comm. April 13, 2015

Poverty is everyone’s business.

There is no single magic bullet that will eradicate poverty. We need a,

focused, coordinated, comprehensive, judicious system of context-based

and outcome-driven policies and programmes that capitalize on the

strengths of the private and public sectors as well as academia, civil society

and the fourth and fifth estates to achieve clearly defined goals and

objectives with meaningful targets.

Conclusion


If we fail, the poor alone will not suffer.

Bibliography:

Danziger, S., and Haveman, R. (Eds.). (2001). Understanding poverty (566p). New York, New York: Russell Sage Foundation.

Kedir, A., and Sookram, S. (2013). Poverty and Welfare of the Poor in a High-Income Country: Evidence from Trinidad and Tobago. Journal of International Development, 25(4), 520-535.

National Report: Trinidad and Tobago. A civil society review of progress towards the Millennium Development Goals in Commonwealth countries. (22p). (2013). Commonwealth Foundation.

Polak, Paul, & Warwick, Mal. (2013). Business Solution to Poverty: Designing Products and Services for Three Billion New Customers. (1st ed., 264p). Berrett-Koehler.

Sachs, Jeffrey D. (2005). The end of poverty: Economic possibilities for our time (397p). New York: Penguin Press.

Theodore, Karl and Ewan Scott (2008). Income poverty and state support in Trinidad and Tobago: the case for alignment. Department of Economics-Conference on the Economy (COTE) (15p). Presentation at University of the West Indies, St. Augustine.

UN Millennium Project. 2005. Investing in Development: A Practical Plan to Achieve the Millennium Development Goals (329p). New York

The millennium development goals: a Latin American and Caribbean perspective. (321p). (2005). Santiago, Chile: United Nations.

Yunus, Muhammad, and Alan Jolis. (2003). Banker to the poor: micro-lending and the battle against world poverty (200p). New York, NY: PublicAffairs.


David Ramjohn-Poverty Presentation (Edited) UWI 15Apr2015

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