South Africa: Fight Poverty On Global Front - Skweyiya

from All Africa

BuaNews (Tshwane)

Nozipho Dlamini

Social Development Minister Zola Skweyiya has called for the issues of poverty eradication and development to be tackled from a global perspective.

"As a country, we recognise that in order to achieve a better life for all, poverty eradication and overall development must be pursued from a global perspective," Dr Skweyiya said Monday, addressing the United Nations General Assembly's informal thematic debate on development.

The minister reiterated South Africa's belief in the need for responsible global partnerships within the UN system, towards this end.

"Collective efforts towards eradication of global poverty could only be achieved if all member states of the United Nations fulfilled their commitments according to the means and the resources at their disposal."

The debate, held at the UN's New York headquarters, was aimed at strengthening partnerships for the achievement of the Millennium Developmental Goals (MDGs), by reviewing progress on the implementation of internationally agreed upon development objectives.

"We all need to focus on concrete programs to accelerate development in Africa and to prevent it from sinking further into poverty and underdevelopment. We cannot merely accept the situation that Africa will not achieve the MDGs by 2015," said the minister.

"We have the responsibility to end the rhetoric and to form a global partnership that would ensure that all human beings on the continent live decent, humane and prosperous lives."

The eight MDGs were agreed upon by UN member states in 2000 with a target date of 2015. They include halving poverty, cutting child mortality by two-thirds and providing access to water and sanitation.

"On MDG, 1 South Africa has embarked on programs aimed at sustainable development, eradicating extreme poverty and hunger by providing social assistance grants, financial allocation for which increased nearly 4 fold between 1994 and 2004," the minister said.

In terms of the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa, the country aims to halve poverty and unemployment by 2014, a year before the target date of the MDGs. Through AsgiSA, government also aims to attain 6 percent economic growth by 2010.

South Africa also recently hosted the launch of the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) 2006 Human Development Report with the theme "Water and Human Development."

The report was launched in acknowledgment of the efforts the country has made to promote access to safe water and sanitation.

"In Africa we are working to respond to the many challenges facing the continent through the developmental program of the African Union, the New Partnership for Africa's Development (NEPAD)," Dr Skweyiya said, outlining yet another initiative the continent was spearheading for its upliftment.

NEPAD, he explained, seeks to engage different sectors to mobilize internal and external resources for the sustainable regeneration and expansion of the full spectrum of human capability in the continent.

Government has also put in place other job-oriented interventions to address extreme poverty including the labour intensive Expanded Public Works Programme, the Agricultural Starter Pack Programme and the Comprehensive Agricultural Support Programme.