This comprised expenditure funds totaling 29.64% of the nation’s
total expenditure, as reported by the office of the Auditor General 2016 and 28.49% in the 2017 revised estimates,
while estimating 29.44%
up by 2.14% for 2018, as published by the
Ministry of Finance. The Human Development category is to execute policies,
strategies and initiatives of the Ministries
of Health, Education, Social Development and Family Services, Community
Development, Culture and the Arts, and Sport and Youth Affairs.
The progress of any country, nation,
society is driven by its human resource and the development of such; its
citizenry, its people, its skills and talents. A population that is educated,
healthy, well-adjusted as a society, contributing in the community, supporting
culture and the arts, participating in competitive sport and encouraging the
youth, will build and maintain a happy, respectful, caring and sharing nation. Noting
that, growth industries and job creation are as a direct result of investment
in ideas, and the only true source of ideas is the human being.
News from the previous period
The Ministry of
Health, with less excess to foreign currency, had to deal with shortages of
essential pharmaceuticals, availability at the nation's hospitals, clinics and
dispensaries. The Ministry declared
Zika a national public health emergency and has had some success via its insect vector
control unit, in collaboration with Local Government bodies, in cleaning and
spraying, to manage the mosquito population, controlling mosquito borne diseases similar to Malaria, Chik V, Dengue or
Yellow Fever and other public health hazards,
in communities across the nation. The Ministry of Health, also expanded its
public communication campaign to manage responses to Red Eye, the Flu and much
more.
The
Ministry of Education main challenge was to get legal and financial control of
its school building, restoration, renovation and repair projects and
contractors retained by its Education Facilities Division. The Ministry had to
develop strategies and employ suspensions, expulsions and youth imprisonment,
to deal with cases of students violently disrupting schools' operations. The
Ministry of Education executed its mandate, while having to reassess and adjust
the Government Assistance for
Tuition Expenses (GATE) system, to remain relevant, easily accessible and
available to all citizens who need it.
The
Ministry of Social Development and Family Services has reviewed and tighten all
its initiatives to ensure it reaches the lesser fortunate members of society.
The Social Welfare Division of the Ministry is responsible for the equitable,
transparent and timely provision of services to meet the social and financial
needs of assessed members of our society. Among the suite of services offered
in this division are senior citizen’s pension, public assistance grant,
disability grant, and other general assistance.
The
Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts, extended its annual
events, with the launch of its Peer Mediation which gives students the
knowledge and skills to resolve their own conflicts in a supervised controlled
environment and its Reach
Mentorship Programme which seeks to promote a new generation of women leaders
by cultivating skills that are critical for goal attainment and success.
The
Ministry of Sport and Youth Affairs, along with its standard support for annual
programmes, was engaged in the promotion of sporting icons locally and
internationally, hosting initiatives to motivate young citizens and reforming
laws to end child marriages.
Within this current period
The
Ministry of Health continues its many initiatives and (wellness & healthy
lifestyles) programmes. Citizens are
therefore urged to continue working with authorities in the eradication of
mosquito breeding sites and to take all necessary precautions to avoid being
bitten by the Aedes aegypti mosquito. The Ministry of Health, with 32.78% of the Human
Development funding, must focus on hospital and clinic equipment maintenance
and remain vigilant to ensure the
safety of the citizenry, especially pregnant women. The Ministry is
upgrading and strengthening its Chemistry, Food & Drugs Division which is responsible for the administration of the
Food and Drugs Act and Regulations and the Pesticides and Toxic Chemicals Act and Regulations.
The Ministry of Education is currently engaged
in outfitting all schools to benefit from technological innovations and all
students in all schools to have free, secure, and easy to access fast Broadband
Internet, while, incorporating tablet computers and age appropriate software into the curriculum. The Ministry
allocated 33.83% of
the Human Development estimated budget, works through its Teaching and Teacher Development
Division offering a fundamental chance to orient, condition and to
fundamentally teach young people, preparing them for life and for citizenship.
The Ministry of Education, will continue a comprehensive,
efficient, targeted, timely and sustainable school maintenance programme to
cope with the ageing school infrastructure, utilizing Local Government bodies
to implement the works.
The
Ministry of Social Development and Family Services, with 29.23% of the Human
Development funding, continues to place focus on the vulnerable, marginalized
and indigent in our society by ensuring that those targeted persons are able to
receive help - on time and in appropriate measure when they reach out to the
Ministry. In particular, the Ministry has, as one of its priority areas of
focus, persons with disabilities, given the recently ratified UN Convention on
Persons with Disabilities.
The
Ministry of Community Development, Culture and the Arts, 2.30% of the Human
Development estimated budget, operates Community Action for Revival and
Empowerment (CARE), Community Centres/Facilities, Community Development Fund
(CDF), Export Centres Company Limited, Community Mediation, National Commission
for Self Help Limited and the Prime Minister's Best Village Trophy Competition.
The Ministry of Sport and
Youth Affairs, with 1.87%
of the Human Development funding, is focused on opening a number of
multipurpose facilities and selling or entering into management contracts with
private operators for the benefit of the entire population
Rationale
T.A.J & Associates Company Limited
uses this occasion to comment on topics that have been covered, both academically
and by the mainstream media, to add its opinion and point out investment
opportunity, not to invoke any social action.
