Good
health, sound education, social empowerment, physical activities and community
interaction are the essentials for Human Development. 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. This comprised expenditure funds totaling 28.85% of the nation’s
total expenditure, as reported by the office of the Auditor General 2017 and 29.09% in the 2018 revised estimates,
while estimating 29.20%
up by 2.70% for 2019, as published by the
Ministry of Finance. Noting that, 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.
Charged
with oversight of the entire health system, the Ministry of Health, with Human Development funding of a 30.57% estimated for 2019, plays a central
role in the protection of the population’s health and in ensuring that all
organizations and institutions that produce health goods and services conform
to standards of safety. This ministry provides effective leadership for the
health sector by focusing on evidence-based policy making; planning;
monitoring; evaluation; collaboration and regulation. The ministry establishes
national priorities for health and ensures an enabling environment for the
delivery of a broad range of high quality, people-centred services from a mix
of public and private providers. Healthcare involves nutrition, directs
wellness through physical and mental activities, controls drugs through
dispensary, manages rehabilitation for addicts and delivers emergency programs
through regional clinics and hospitals along with special treatment centers,
and is responsible for building new, for expanding and maintaining facilities,
and recruitment and training personnel.
The
Ministry of Education, with a 34.72% estimated for 2019 of the Human
Development funding, is a high performing and dynamic organization, leading a
quality education system that is responsive to the diverse needs of 21st
century learners, to contribute to the education and versatility of
holistically developed children, who are able to satisfy the human capital
needs and sustainable development of society. Education overseeing curriculums
development, administers facilities and recruits and trains personnel for
pre-school (Early Childhood Care ECC), primary, secondary and tertiary
institutions along with special purpose education operations and emphasizing
Science and Technology.
Guided
by the tenets ‘Helping, Empowering and Transforming Lives’, the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services, with Human
Development funding of a 30.59%
estimated for 2019,
seeks to empower its clientele through rehabilitative and skill enhancement
initiatives, which promote human prosperity in the context of sustainable
development. This ministry is also responsible for developing, coordinating,
monitoring and evaluating social sector policies and programmes to ensure
sustainability, cultural relevance and economic viability, to lead in the
enhancement of lives, with emphasis on the vulnerable, through a network of
integrated, effective and accessible social services.
Social Services addresses poverty reduction; manages food distribution,
the needs of the differently able and the homeless, among other outreach
programs, administered to reach the people truly in need and to incorporate the
necessary training components.
With
a 2.31% estimated
for 2019 of the
Human Development funding, Community
Development mirrors the Government's policy for the mobilization and
engagement of communities throughout the nation so that everyone can make a
contribution to our nation's success, with everyone benefitting from it. The
focus on Culture engages in the
collection, protection, promotion and dissemination of elements of the nation’s
rich cultural diversity. The Arts
strategically engender through national development policies, a renewed sense
of national pride, patriotism, national identity and a commitment to preserve
the heritage assets of the nation.
To
engender positive attitudes that facilitate the delivery of technology-driven,
quality services with special emphasis on Sport development for recreation,
lifestyle and industry. The Ministry of
Sport and Youth Affairs, with Human Development funding of a 1.81% estimated for 2019, policy direction is
to support and grow sporting bodies (schools, clubs, leagues) into viable,
self-sufficient business, lessening the dependencies on grant funding and
subventions from the treasury, allowing talented youths to train and succeed
along a chosen sporting career path.
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.
