Posts for 'War' Category

More than a third of Afghans are living in abject poverty, as those in power are more concerned about addressing their vested interests rather than the basic needs of the population, a United Nations report said Tuesday.

"Abuse of power is a key driver of poverty in Afghanistan. Vested interests frequently shape the public agenda, whether in relation to the law, policy or the allocation of resources," said the report compiled by the office of the High Commissioner for Human Rights.

In the scathing report, the office said that the government is "often unable to deliver basic services such as security, food or shelter" and that rampant corruption added a further challenge to overcoming poverty in the country.

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The number of pensioners living in poverty has fallen by almost a third in 10 years - but at least two million remain below the breadline. There were 2.9 million poor pensioners in 1998, according to the Office for National Statistics. That had fallen to two million by 2008 figures showed yesterday but experts fear the number has since risen as a result of the recession and last year's harsh winter.

The number of companies cutting pension benefits is likely to drive the number higher in future. In 1977, the state pension provided 53% of the average pensioner's income but, after the Conservatives cut the link with earnings in 1980, its relative value fell. By 2007 it made up just 37% of their income.Pensioners are officially in poverty if they are forced to survive on less than 60% of average wages, after housing costs.

Andrew Harrop, of Age Concern & Help the Aged, said progress had "come to a standstill" at best in the past three years. He explained: "Many pensioners on a low income will be struggling to make ends meet as their bills soar after the recent freeze."

For the ninth time in the past two decades, local child poverty activists have given Manitoba the dubious distinction of being the child poverty capital of Canada.  The NDP suggests the numbers are misleading, though.  According to the 2009 Manitoba Child and Family Poverty Report card put out by the Social Planning Council of Winnipeg yesterday, nearly one in five children (18.8%) in this province live in poverty.

"One child is too many in poverty, so 47,000 children in Manitoba living in poverty is way too many," said Donald Benham, a senior associate at SPC.  The report finds nearly 40% of children have lived in poverty for at least one of the past six years while 68% of aboriginal children under the age of six live in poor conditions. That last number doesn't take into account the number of youngsters living on reserves.

"You can't really put a number on something you live through every day," said Tayrn McLean, a 20-year-old single mother living near the SPC's poverty line. "It's harder to look at the big picture when it's just your picture you're concerned about."

The SPC uses figures that determine what the total family income is and how it is used to feed, clothe and house themselves before income tax is deducted to measure poverty.  But the province uses a different method, using federal stats that take into account individual purchasing power and government income supports, to gauge poverty levels. Using those numbers, Manitoba has the third lowest child poverty rate -- 10.1% -- in Canada.

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 This popular siSwati adage, which loosely means that a man whose stomach is full will be productive, came to the fore on Saturday during the joint commemoration of the world food and world poverty day at the Matsanjeni Inkhundla.

The joint commemoration was preceded by celebrations of the world poverty week characterised by a series of activities at different Tinkhundlla Centres throughout the whole of last week. Prime Minister Dr. Barnabas Sibusiso Dlamini, who was the guest of honour during the event, told a gathering of over 1 000 residents of the Inkhundla and others from neighbouring Tinkhundla Centres that observing the two days was not about glorifying poverty and the suffering of the affected population.

He said the main purpose of the commemoration was to increase awareness about the efforts made by government and other development partners to address the poverty situation and the standard of living of the Swazi people.

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South Africa's official opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), says it wants to prevent the ruling African National Congress (ANC) from winning a two-thirds majority in parliament in elections scheduled for April 22nd.

DA officials are strongly opposed to the allegedly corrupt ANC leader Jacob Zuma becoming South Africa's next president but seem resigned to it happening. At the country's last polls, the DA received more than 12 percent of votes cast. This time it's aiming for 15 percent.

Makashule Gana's eloquence belies his youth. At just 25 years of age, the young man with the ready smile is one of the Democratic Alliance's rising stars in what is one of the richest part of South Africa, Gauteng.

In the run-up to what many analysts see as the country's most important elections since its first democratic polls in 1994, Gana has been "tramping the province flat" in an effort to win support for the party, which many of his compatriots still see as being largely controlled by whites.

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