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30.09.2009 News

Gov`t and citizens` attitudes towards poverty alleviation

30.09.2009 LISTEN
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Poverty has always being the plight of many people in the world. In Ghana, many people face poverty such that getting even three square meals a day is a problem. Homelessness and hunger are always the order of the day. In Ghana the effect of poverty has compelled people in the rural to move to the cities, and those in the cities to move to the western world, all in the name of searching for greener pastures. If only poverty will be reduced, and state resources properly utilised, with the people and the government being dedicated, then poverty can in way be reduced. It is about time the theory of poverty eradication was put into real practice as people are gradually perishing.

Poverty in Ghana
At a seminar for poverty reduction in Accra, it was noted that by the last count, the Ghana Statistical Service (GSS) estimated that some 28.5% of compatriots, representing 6 million Ghanaians were living in poverty. In the rural areas, four out of every ten Ghanaians are living in poverty. In the Northern part of the country, about 60% of the inhabitants are considered as being poor by the estimate of the GSS. According to the GSS, 18% of the Ghanaian population is considered to be extremely poor.

An individual is classified as extremely poor if his standard of living is insufficient to meet the basic needs, and if he devotes the entire consumption budget to food. The incidence of extreme poverty declined from about 36% in 1991/92, to a little below 27% in 1998/99, and further in 2005/06.

According to the GSS, the incidence of poverty is highest in the rural savannah, where 60% of the people were poor in 2005/06. This level of incidence was an improvement on the rate of 70% in 1998/99. The portion of the country's rural population living below the poverty line on the other hand, increased slightly from 82% in 1998/99 to 85% in 2005/06.

Poverty and unemployment
Unemployment in Ghana has always been a very big problem which many governments have found it difficult to conquer. A lot of people in Ghana find it difficult to find a job, or even to get capital to be self-employed. For those who find jobs, the per capita income, which is very, low is not able to satisfy the individual, let alone his entire family. The economy of Ghana has turned in such a way that the prices of items and commodities increase every now and then. However, the painful aspect is that while these items increase in prices, the wages and salaries of workers are not increased at all, or by just a tiny margin. This makes people spend either their entire income on basic needs, or with the little amount left, find it difficult to cater for themselves and their families, in terms of other needs.

If only the government and private employers will make it a point to increase the wages and salaries of workers as prices of items and commodities increase, then people's standard of living will not be reduced. For those who are self-employed, the frequent increase in items and commodities most times, makes them to work at a loss.

In one way or the other, the poverty level of a country can as well be determined by the educational level of the people. The more the people are educated, the more they will be legible to fill certain job positions. However, in Ghana, the uneducated always seem to outnumber the educated.

According to the latest Ghana Living Standards report, the GSS estimates that about 31% of all adults in Ghana have never been to school, less than one-fifth (17.1%) attended school but did not obtain any qualification; 39% have only MSLC/ BECE/VOC certificates as their highest qualification. Looking at the percentage of adults who are uneducated, apart from him being self-employed, it would be very difficult for him or her to get a job, and even if he does get a good job, his or her salary will be extremely unable to support himself or his family. As every one thing leads to another, the low income of this employee will not be enough to take his children to school, hence they also being uneducated, resulting in the vicious cycle of poverty

Poverty can be reduced to a greater extent if jobs are created for the people. As poverty in a way blames itself on the people not being educated, it as well blames the economy for not being able to provide jobs for the educated. It is evident that jobs do not exist, however it is sad to note that the little vacancy available, is never given to people not only with the qualification, but with experience as well.

In Ghana, many workplaces seek to work with the experienced, making new graduates find it very difficult securing jobs after school, all in the name of lack of experience. According to the Secretary General of the Ghana Trades Union Congress (GTUC), Mr. Kofi Asamoah, the only way to end poverty, is to place people in employment that pays decent wages and gives them the opportunity to be part of generating and sharing the benefits of economic growth. If that be the case, creating jobs should be the priority of the government, so as prevent the learned minds of these graduates from staying idle.

The way forward
The only way of reducing poverty, so far, has been through the creation of job opportunities, and increasing the per capita income of worker in the country. Recently, it was announced that President John Evans Atta Mills was on the verge of creating about 10,000 jobs for the people of Ghana. However, the already existing ones ought to make way for the youth to get employed, and if companies love to work with experienced personals, they can employ these youth under probation, or even train them to occupy certain positions in the company. For public companies those at their retirement age ought to go on retirement and make way for the youth to occupy the positions. Companies must make it a point to make good pension plans for their employees, so as to make them willing to leave for the youth to occupy their positions. If there is a good pension plan, it will prevent worker from falling into poverty upon retirement.

Women and poverty alleviation
It is apparent that the consequence of poverty affects all nations however, those greatly affected are women and children. In Africa, women, most of the times, are in charge of all domestic activities in the home. This compels them to go the extra mile to secure food for the table, especially when the husband is jobless. Single mothers also go through even the extra mile of taking care of the home, since they do not have a helping hand. The Ministry of Women and Children's Affairs (MOWAC) on realising this, is embarking on activities for women, which will go a long way in reducing poverty.

According to the Minister of the Ministry, Madam Akua Sena Dansua, women are the key resources to poverty alleviation. There is therefore the need to encourage gender equality and women empowerment. According to the Minister, if women are given financial knowledge, business will boom for them and reduce the rate of poverty in their various homes. She said, as part of the MOWAC's plan to reduce poverty, it provided women in the rural areas with loans and capital to start their own business. Poverty being a contributor to child mortality in the country, the MOWAC has as well, through the Ministry of Health, set up certain activities which are helping to reduce the rate of child mortality in Ghana.

Conclusion
The government ought to act fast to help alleviate poverty in the country, even though it is impossible to meet the world's target of eradicating poverty from the world by 2015, it can still put things in place to help reduce it, if not totally alleviated. The reduction of poverty can go along way in reducing all kind of social vices like armed robbery, mobile phone snatching, internet fraud, and drug trafficking by the youth. In is not only up to the government to alleviate poverty, but the people as the whole. It is about time people work with their whole heart, for there is the need for Ghanaians to eradicate the mentality that the government work can be done anyhow, since one will be paid at the end of the month.

Moreover the phrase “this work is not for my family, so I can't kill myself for it,” needs to be eradicated from people's minds. Many people tend to forget that their wages and salaries will be increased when there is an increase in productivity at the workplace, and as well have their incentives increased.

The prospects of a nation depends on the government and the people themselves, so there is the need to stop fighting, as the same people are the direct victims of poverty in the country.

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