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Govt to revisit poverty paper
By
Ayam Maeresa - 12-05-2003 |
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Finance Minister Friday Jumbe said on Friday government plans to revisit its poverty reduction strategy launched last year to ensure what is spent on the poor balances with flows to major economic growth sectors.
Jumbe said in Blantyre the plan, widely known as Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP), gives little attention on how to move the sleeping economy.
He said the plan was more concerned with how to reduce the widespread poverty, which according to the World Bank grips at least every six out of 10 of the 11 million people in the country.
Jumbe said the plan, widely approved by the donors as the best tool to deal with poverty in least developed countries, intends to put more money in running programmes to reduce poverty at the expense of growth.
He said reducing poverty is a long term investment for government, whose fruits will be realised after a long time.
This is against the call for urgency to pull the economy, plagued by high interest rates which have remained at 40 percent for almost two years of no donor aid for budgetary support, he said.
“You can’t put all your resources in long term investments and expect to achieve (growth) results,” said Jumbe.
But Ecama publicity secretary Perks Ligoya questioned the wisdom of Malawi moving out of tune with a globally agreed plan, which major donors such as the International Monetary Fund and World Bank subscribes to.
Said Ligoya: “Could we as a country divert from globally agreed approach to poverty?”
Jumbe said government was not abandoning the PRSP but simply trying to make it respond to other pressing matters in the economy. He said the plan was too “socialist” to make any dent on the economy.
In the last two to three years, economists say the economy has sunk to a negative 1.8 percent, hit by a crippling aid crisis and numerous company closures on the industrial front. Donors blame government for spending out of budgets.
Economist Khwima Nthara said government’s views confirms civil society’s fears of coming up with a half-baked plan raised during the speedy drafting consultations process. He said this was like admitting the process was not effective.
“Critics say (the plan) is not socialist enough because growth is high up there as a priority...In fact, people say the structural adjustments have come again through the back door,” said Nthara.
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