Minister Scott On Bermuda’s Social Recovery

Good evening,

Thank you for inviting me to speak here tonight. I consider it a privilege to be here at Sandy’s Rotary Club and I am pleased to share with you details of a programme that we at the Ministry of Community, Culture and Sports believes offers Bermuda a brighter future, the Social Recovery Programme.

After generations of financial stability and rising expectations, Bermuda finds itself challenged in the wake of a disastrous global economic downturn, compounded by questionable management of our economy. As a result,we have seen a rise in violence, a rise in anti-social behavior and sadly, we have also seen a rise in unemployment, with more Bermudians being unemployed than at any other time in the history of this country.

I’m sure everyone in this room would agree that now is the time for Bermudians to come together to set a course for a brighter future for our country, for our children and their children. We must begin to recalculate the ways in which social progress can be achieved and to lay the groundwork for Bermudians to earn a better life.

The Government understands this urgent need for change and I am here tonight to assure you that your government is committed to leading a programme of economic and social recovery to mend our broken society and to give our people hope.

Paulo Coelho, the Brazilian lyricist and novelist, once said that when we strive to become better than we are, everything around us becomes better too. That is the goal of this Government, and it is through initiatives such as the Social Recovery programme that we will achieve it.

We hold this truth to be self-evident that Bermuda cannot enjoy economic success without social success.

Social success is achieved when everyone pulls together in the same direction. Today, the direction we need to take is clear: we must continue to rebuild our island and our community by working with each other.

This Government has identified a new way forward, one that will start with and encourage further cohesion in the community. As the saying has it– a rising tide that will lift all boats,.

The Social Recovery programme will tackle the root causes of poverty, rather than just throwing money around and announcing that our problems have been solved. The resources the former Government pumped in simply didn’t work effectively because money is a means rather than an end.Cheques don’t solve problems, people solve problems.
We must lift people out of unemployment. All Governments believe that, however the policies we have begun to put in place are designed to reduce unemployment. We are working on building a solid foundation in order to get Bermuda working again for all Bermudians.

Let me pause to acknowledge that the face of the unemployed in Bermuda has changed and we must jumpstart the economy with inward investment, etc. However, this new face is a temporary one that will revert back to the norm, once the economy picks up. Therefore, the focus here is not just on the economy, but the underlying social issues that affect our people, and all too often this reality gets swept under the carpet.

At the heart of the Social Recovery programme is the creation of a framework to provide our people with the support and guidance they need to become productive citizens, without significantly increasing demands on the taxpayer. Raising taxes without a clearly defined purpose never solves anything.

Many governments around the world have learned that they must tackle the causes of benefit dependency and lessen people’s reliance on social assistance. Bermuda is no exception in this regard.

An example of how social recovery can be achieved is the Community Driven Development programme or CDD. CDD is a joint initiative launched in March by the Department of Human Affairs and the Bermuda Women’s Council. The aim of the programme is to develop the potential of unemployed or underemployed women, so that they become self-sufficient and eventually off financial assistance.

I will not get into the intricacies of the programme tonight, and I would be happy to discuss the details with anyone in this room, or outside it, who cares about Bermuda’s future.

However, I would like to give you an example of the impact the CDD programme has had on at least two young women. When asked why she and her sister had joined the CDD programme this is what one of the participants said and I quote: “My sister and I are caught in two systems, child and family services and financial assistance. We are breaking the cycle of generational poverty by attending the CDD programme which aims to provide us with the necessary tools towards financial and emotional freedom. This freedom will make us better individuals and lead to financial independence. We can then empower our children to do better and be productive citizens of our island.”

The CDD programme is a tangible example of how this Ministry and this Government are moving Bermuda in the right direction towards a social recovery and is a clear example that this government has not forgotten struggling families, where life is often characterized by family breakdown, debt, and dependency. This is why the policies of the Ministry of Community, Culture and Sport are about strengthening the family, helping people get back to work and offering a second chance to those who have lost hope.

This government does truly want all Bermudians to achieve social and economic equity. That is why we are working hard to fix both the economy and our broken society.

This social change needs to start now. Tonight I am encouraging each and every one of you to embrace this social recovery movement. The future of our country depends on its’ success; and so does the future of our people.

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