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Momodou
Denmark
11735 Posts |
 Posted - 06 Jan 2007 : 17:51:12
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Editorial
WILL POVERTY BE REDUCED BY HALF BY 2015?
Eight years from now all countries are supposed to reduce poverty by at least half its present prevalence. This is one aspect of the Millennium Development Goals. The debate between the Secretary of State for Finance and the Minority Leader in the National Assembly of The Gambia regarding poverty is instructive. The Secretary of State for Finance and Economic Affairs indicated that Gambia will achieve the target of the Millennium Development Goals in terms of the reduction of poverty. He indicated that poverty has dropped from 69% to 58%.
The Minority Leader indicated that according to the Millennium Development Goals anybody who earns less than one dollar a day in the Gambia would be considered to be living in abject poverty. He argued that signs of reducing poverty should be reflected in the rise of living standard or the increase in income of the poor. He indicated that the best gauge as to whether poverty is on the decline is the salary of the low grade employees of the public service. He lamented that cleaners, messengers, uncertificated teachers, drivers, and many low grade technical or clerical staff receives less than D1000 per month which amounts to less than 1 dollar a day. He asked: If government cannot free its employees from poverty by raising the minimum wage above 1 dollar a day, how can it free the unemployed and the poor farmers from poverty?
Foroyaa strongly holds that the issue of poverty should not be reduced to an academic exercise or semantics. Poverty is real and the recent decision to drive beggars away from their green pastures is only compounding the problem and thus making the authorities to be more insensitive to the plight of those who do not have.
Something should be done to create a minimum wage that will give visible credence to government’s claim that the PRSP is designed to reduce poverty.
Source: Foroyaa Newspaper Burning Issues
Issue No. 001/2007, 3-4 January, 2007
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