Country in Bid to Stamp Out Poverty

from All Africa

New Era (Windhoek)

NEWS

By Emma Kakololo
Windhoek

Namibians are likely to stand up in big numbers today and speak out against poverty and inequality as part of the events organised by non-governmental organisations in collaboration with the UN Millennium Campaign.

Today is also observed as International Day for Eradication of Poverty.

The "Stand Up and Speak Out Against Poverty" initiative to amplify the Namibian voice regarding poverty and whether enough is being done to meet the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), is spearheaded by the Namibian Global Call to Action Against Poverty (GCAP) under the auspices of Namibian Development Trust (NDT) and the Namibian Non-Governmental Organisations Forum (NANGOF).

GCAP is a network of more than 115 national anti-poverty coalitions in developing countries, Asia, Latin America and Africa.

Last year, GCAP and UN Millennium Campaign set a Guinness world record for the largest single mobilisation in history when 23,5 million people, including over nine million in India, in over 100 countries stood up against poverty on October 17.

Seventeen years after independence, Namibia continues to be a highly unequal society with greatly skewed income distribution patterns.

Namibia also might not be able to meet the MDGs, according to a report by the African Development Bank and the World Bank, "African Economic Outlook 2007".

The aim for our struggle, said NDT director, Ronny Dempers, yesterday, was not only for independence but also for socio-economic justice.

"It was a struggle aimed at redressing ownership patterns and ensure improvement in the quality of life for our people.

"We believe that a country such as Namibia, which is blessed with abundant resources with a relatively small population, has the potential of providing quality life for its citizens," he said at a meeting that was aimed at mobilising Namibians to participate in today's activities.

"We are confronted in Namibia with a situation in which the few continue to enjoy the wealth of this nation and this state of affairs must stop.

"We need to stand up and speak out to our Government and leaders at all levels of society," he urged.

Also speaking at the event, National Planning Commission's Vekondja Tjikuzu stressed the need to incorporate the voices of the poor and vulnerable people into policy formulation processes.

"This will enhance Government's endeavour to find home-grown solutions to our problems."