SOUTHERN AFRICA: LACK OF RESOURCES RESTRAINS DEVELOPMENT
HARARE, Dic 24 (IPS) - THERE ARE GROWING FEARS IN SOUTHERN AFRICA THAT THE STANDARD OF LIVING OF ORDINARY PEOPLE CAN ONLY IMPROVE IF ENOUGH RESOURCES ARE MADE AVAILABLE TO ENSURE SUSTAINABLE ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT.
ACCORDING TO A DIRECTOR OF A DANISH NON-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANISATION (NGO) IN ZIMBABWE, ON-GOING STRUCTURAL ADJUSTMENT PROGRAMMES (SAP) HAVE FLOPPED BECAUSE COUNTRIES IN THE SUB- REGION LACK SUFFICIENT RESOURCES.
"THE NORTH SHOULD TRANSFER 4.7 PERCENT OF THEIR GROSS NATIONAL PRODUCT (GNP) TO THE SOUTH, PARTICULARLY AFRICA, TO ENSURE THE AVAILABILITY OF RESOURCES TO SEE SUCCESSFUL ECONOMIC REFORMS," SAYS BJORN FORDE.
SEVERAL SOUTHERN AFRICAN NATIONS HAVE EMBARKED ON ECONOMIC REFORMS RECOMMENDED BY THE WORLD BANK AND THE INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND (IMF).
SUCCESS OF THE PROGRAMMES, AIMED TO LIBERALISE THE ECONOMY, ATTRACT DOMESTIC AND FOREIGN INVESTMENT, CREATE GAINFUL EMPLOYMENT AND PUSH-START ECONOMIC GROWTH, HAS HOWEVER BEEN MARGINAL.
AT THE MOMENT, INDUSTRIAL COUNTRIES COMMIT AN AVERAGE OF 15 PERCENT OF THEIR COMBINED GNP TO PROVIDING SOCIAL SECURITY AT HOME, WHILE ONLY 0.3 PERCENT GOES TO FOREIGN AID.
FORDE'S SENTIMENTS ARE ECHOED BY ZIMBABWE'S MINISTER OF LABOUR, MANPOWER PLANNING AND SOCIAL WELFARE, JOHN NKOMO.
"THE NORTH AND SOUTH SHOULD WORK TOGETHER AND CONTRIBUTE TO FORMATION OF BETTER POLICIES AND FORMULATE A BETTER ECONOMIC ENVIRONMENT," HE SAYS, ADDING: "THE SUMMIT HAS A MONUMENTAL TASK OF CONVINCING THE HAVES THAT TO SHARE IS HUMAN."
CONCURRING, FORDE SAYS, "SAPS MUST BE FUNDAMENTALLY REVISED BOTH IN DESIGN AND CONTENT TO BE CENTRED ON SUSTAINABLE HUMAN DEVELOPMENT."
BUT, A WORLD BANK ECONOMIST, ARNE DISCH, BELIEVES, "OF IMPORTANCE IS EFFICIENCY AND UTILISATION OF AVAILABLE RESOURCES".
"MOST GOVERNMENTS IN AFRICA HAVE A LARGE CHUNK OF THEIR BUDGETS ALLOCATED TO A SECTOR LIKE DEFENCE WHICH DOES NOT BENEFIT THE POOR IN ANY WAY."
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