A critical assessment of Jamaica's national poverty eradication programme

Abstract

In recent times there have been a proliferation of national, sectoral and local development policies on poverty eradication in the developing countries. This study of the Jamaican poverty reduction initiative aimed to find out whether some of these programmes have transcended some of the elementary policy problems that have been widely covered in the development management literature since the 1960s. The Government of Jamaica contends that its overall social policy, and especially the National Poverty Eradication Programme (NPEP), instituted from 1997-2000 may have contributed towards the reduction of absolute poverty levels that have been recorded in the last half-decade. This writer argues otherwise. This is because a close examination of the management of the NPEP per se revealed deep-seated problems. These included a weak political analysis, poor co-ordination at the macro and street levels and a lack of adequate institutional support from the bureaucracy. The essay suggests ways towards improved governance. Copyright © 2002 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

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