News
September 24, 2004
Opposition Leader: Poverty on the increase

Vincentians are getting poorer. That’s the observation from Opposition Leader Arnhim Eustace. He exemplified his point by making reference to the School Assistance Programme run by his party. {{more}}
That initiative, which ran from August 1 to September 15 saw families receive money, books, uniforms, shoes and school bags .
The 4,660 persons who received the help increased from 1100 the previous year And Eustace attributed this increase to “the growing number of persons who are poor.’ He added that it was a “reflection of the poor economic growth and development in our country.”
The opposition referred to the “hullabaloo” of the Unity Labour Party (ULP) government claiming to be the Education Government. He called on the authorities to “take the issue of assistance to the needy families at the beginning of school year more seriously.”
Eustace also highlighted the “increasing number of persons who would not normally seek such assistance who came forward this year, compared with the two previous years of the programnme.”