Maravi

Prof Seshamani calls for rural development

Prof Seshamani calls for rural development
By Mutuna Chanda
Monday February 25, 2008 [03:00]

UNIVERSITY of Zambia Professor of economics Venkatesh Seshamani has warned that Zambia could turn into a highly iniquitous nation unless concerted efforts are made to improve the plight of the people in rural areas. And former Zambia Business Forum (ZBF) vice chairperson Phillip Chilomo has warned that the concentration of development in urban areas would undermine the growth that Zambia was trying to achieve. Speaking during a Friedrich Ebert Stiftung (FES) organised workshop for members of parliament and civil society representatives in Lusaka on Saturday, Prof Seshamani said Zambia already had a very high level of inequality.

Prof Seshamani made specific reference to finance minister Ng’andu Magande’s comments during his presentation of the national budget last month in that living conditions and monitoring survey of 2006 reflected that between 2004 and 2006 there was a fall in urban poverty from 53 per cent to 34 per cent and an increase in rural poverty from 78 per cent to 80 per cent.

“For the huge reduction in urban poverty and an increase in rural poverty should mean a huge increase in rural-urban inequality. It would be a clear suggestion that development efforts have been skewed in favour of urban areas,” Prof Seshamani said. “And this well correlates with the fact that agriculture, the mainstay of the rural population, has been persistently accorded a step-motherly treatment in the allocation of resources.”

He pointed out that areas that had been identified as being key to bringing about growth such as agriculture, mining, tourism and energy had suffered serious setbacks in this year’s budget compared with last year’s.

He highlighted that the allocation to agriculture had recorded –33.7 per cent, and mining, tourism, energy had recorded –30.9 per cent real change in allocations in this year’s budget.

“While the priorities of the social and physical infrastructural facilities are being sustained, those of the main economic sectors have received a serious setback,” Prof Seshamani noted.

“The drastic decline in the allocation for agriculture is not only for 2008. A recently completed study by Mudenda, Chileshe and myself on Zambia’s budgetary performance over the period 1991 to 2005 shows that there has been a persistent trend of low allocations to agriculture over a fairly long period. The government needs to explain why this is the case.”

And Chilomo said the imbalances in rural and urban areas’ development needed to be addressed.

“As long as we allow Lusaka and areas along the line of rail to grow at a faster pace than rural areas, we’ll undermine the growth that we’re trying to achieve,” Chilomo said. “People may abandon rural areas for urban areas. If you go to Namwala, the shops have deteriorated but if you come to Lusaka you have all the modern facilities and if the situation continues, we may not be able to stem the influx of people migrating from rural areas to urban areas.”

And Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) director Father Pete Henriot said despite last year’s economic indicators showing monetary and fiscal stability as brought out by Magande, the social indicators reflected something different.
“The social indicators unfortunately not discussed by the minister but highlighted by the President (President Mwanawasa) and focused by election results show a picture of uneven progression; urban poverty down and rural poverty up… a tough life for the majority of the people,” said Fr Henriot.

And FES director Gerd Botterweck said people still did not feel the economic progress that was being spoken of.

“We know that Zambia has achieved in recent years a quite satisfactory stability of the major macroeconomic indicators. We also know that the poverty level is extraordinarily high and that people still don’t feel all this economic progress,” said Botterweck. “Beyond this we know that the distribution of wealth and income in market oriented economies cannot be left to market forces alone because they create a mere unjust society…we still need a state which cares for its citizens and especially the poor and which through its policies can help redistribute the resources accordingly to a more just and social society. The budget is a major vehicle to initiate this.”

And Itezhi-Tezhi member of parliament Godfrey Beene who is parliamentary estimates committee chairperson said parliamentarians needed timely and accurate information from all relevant stakeholders to enable them perform their functions.

Labels: POVERTY, RURAL AREAS, VENKATESH SESHAMANI

posted by MrK @ 5:01 AM