Ramakgopa lays plans for poverty reduction

from the Mail and Guardian Online

Poverty mostly affects women, Tshwane mayor Gwen Ramakgopa said on Tuesday at a two-day conference on poverty reduction and community development in Pretoria.

"Poverty involves not only the lack of necessities of material well-being, but the denial of opportunities to lead a tolerable life," said Ramakgopa.

"It is our view as a city that we need to arm ourselves with a strategy that we can then strengthen in order that we can be in a position to formulate implementables.

"The second objective will be to come up with interventions to increase the number of households that exit the indigent register of the city."

A third objective, said Ramakgopa, was to come up with an official definition of poverty. She said the city was committed to fighting poverty, and to building clean, safe and sustainable communities.

The city has a population of approximately 2, 5-million people. In 2001 the city's population grew at a 2,1% average, below Gauteng's average of 2,4%.

In addition, Ramakgopa said prevalence of HIV/Aids was "unacceptably high" and that many young adults were affected by it.

She also said the gap between the rich and poor was "rising at a disturbing rate".