Maravi

Unfair resource delivery worries Catholic bishops

Unfair resource delivery worries Catholic bishops
By Mwala Kalaluka
Thursday July 03, 2008 [04:00]

THE plenary assembly of East African Roman Catholic bishops meeting in Lusaka has expressed concern at the continued unfair distribution of development resources between rural and urban communities. And Solwezi Diocese Bishop Alick Banda said the church's voice cannot be credible in issues of social justice if it is not well informed.

In a presentation made before delegates to the 16th plenary assembly of the Association of Member Episcopal Conferences of Eastern Africa (AMECEA) in Lusaka on Monday, Miniva Chibuye from the Jesuit Centre for Theological Reflection (JCTR) said rural development must be made a priority.

"It is imperative that rural development be made a priority through high-level investment," Chibuye said. "With no doubt, the expansion of small-scale farmers rapidly reduces impoverishment by improving their calorie intake as well as income base. Furthermore, investment in rural non-farm economies such as value addition industries can raise additional income."

She said the basic problem in Africa was not lack of resources but rather misplaced priority setting.

"In many countries, resources are spent on political missions and not on infrastructure or job creation," Chibuye noted. "There seems to be a high level of self interest and lack of political will to invest in sectors relevant to eradicating poverty."

She said the church should raise its voice louder on this issue of distributive injustice between urban and rural populations in the member countries.

"For a long time now, there has been lopsided development favouring urban population and leading to ill-prepared rural-urban migration," Chibuye said. "The precondition therefore is to invest in human capital. Most rural areas have been neglected in terms of quality service provisions as well as capital investments in the form of infrastructure such as irrigation facilities and roads."

She proposed that the resources from debt relief should be targeted towards rural development, among other needy areas.
"For these reasons, impoverishment is beyond politics and economics, it is a moral issue," Chibuye said. "Certainly, we are past the era of piecemeal solutions."

She said the freedom of people within a society to afford basic needs was essential to the promotion of human dignity.
And Bishop Banda said the church had to be an alternative but professional informed voice.

Bishop Banda said there was need to integrate evangelisation into social political structures in order to curb the insecurity that had gripped the church in view of the divisive concept of justice and peace.

Labels: POVERTY

posted by MrK @ 2:37 AM