|
Dear
JCTR Bulletin Readers:
Precisely, what causes poverty? What is the fuss about eradicating poverty? Will poverty ever end? What are the elements of poverty that makes it look so lavish, so intimate that some people in poverty identify with so much that they cannot come out of? These questions are worth writing a PhD dissertation on but at the end of the day people who are in poverty will continue to suffer and die from. Poverty is exaggerated when it comes to poor countries. Even though poverty in rich countries might not be considered at the same level with poverty in poor countries, poverty in rich countries is much more dreadful, psychologically torturing, and a cause of major conflicts in those countries. Poverty is worsened by the realisation that even in the poorest country, riches exist and some people live in enormous wealth to an extent that one man’s or woman’s riches could constitute a country’s annual GDP. Poverty has become deeper in Africa due to other challenges such as the burden of HIV and AIDS, and coping with urban lifestyles that mean that incomes in the form of money are necessary to accessing basic needs.
In most African countries, the differences between the incomes of rich and the poor are so large and people in rural areas are the most poor. Strategies to deal with poverty has ranged from having pro-poor budgets and development programmes to adopting the IMF’s/WB Structure Adjustment Programmes to amassing huge debts to deal with the social sectors and other sectors of society. Although the rationale of having these strategies in place is well intended, the measures have not amounted to significant improvement in the situation. Some of these strategies have even led to lessened capacity of nation states to provide for its own needs as is the case with huge debt servicing.
Complete Letter...
|
