Govt admits poverty rampant in rural areas
By Polycarp Machira
18th April 2010
Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Mustapha Mkullo
The government has failed to reduce the incidence of basic needs poverty to 24 percent in rural areas and to 12.9 percent in urban areas by 2010 as outlined in Poverty Reduction Strategy for mainland Tanzania (PRS).
Records from the ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs indicate that poverty rate remains higher in rural areas where 37.6 percent of rural households live below the basic needs poverty line.
Some 24 percent of households in other urban areas live in poverty while 16 percent of Dar es Salaam residents live below public poverty line.
Poverty reduction was among the detailed goals and strategies of the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSGRP) commonly known as MKUKUTA from 2005 to 2010.
Speaking in Dodoma during the launch of second phase of the NSGRP, minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Mustapha Mkullo said MKUKUTA phase one failed in many indicators due to unfavourable weather conditions.
Despite recording achievements in areas like primary, secondary and college enrolment, MKUKUTA faced challenges in many areas like poverty reduction and improvement of agriculture sector, he said.
He added that the government would improve some key areas that did not get the desired attention in the last phase of MKUKUTA.
The minister also noted that agriculture productivity which has greater impact on poverty reduction indicators was not granted keen attention, a factor that would be considered greatly in the second phase.
Mkulo said budget allocation for the agriculture sector will increase this year, though he declined to mention the exact figure. He pointed out that since income poverty is the core indicator in poverty reduction strategy, the failure to achieve it has an impact on other areas of priority.
Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in a Household Survey, between 2001 and 2007 showed that poverty declined by a mere two per cent during the period.
NBS survey indicated that the proportion of Tanzanian population living below the poverty line dropped to 33.3 percent in 2007 from 35.7 percent in 2001, which is a difference of just 2.4 percent.
It also shows that the number of people in Tanzania who have to survive on one $ a day or less had risen by one million to 12.7 million since 2001. Mkulo named other areas that targets were not well achieved include reduction on maternal mortality, human capital development, water supply in rural areas and rural electrification.
On maternal mortality, he said the cause was by lack of balanced diet, long distance to clinics, poor road infrastructure, lack of facilities and enough qualified personnel in the clinics.
The minister said another reason for unsatisfactory achievement in Mkukuta II was that there were too many areas of priority which made it difficult to address all given the scarce resources available.
He said under Mkukuta Phase II whose preparations started in March last year, priority areas would be scaled down in order to direct impact to poverty reduction. It will be operational in July this year.
The launch of the second phase according to the minister would be followed by a series of stakeholders meeting and public awareness. He said the government has decided to consult politicians, civil society organisation and other stakeholders to avoid shortcomings that were solely blamed on the government as it did not consult widely before the implementation of the first phase of MKUKUTA.
Mkukuta is the development framework for the current five year phase (2005-2010). It forms part of the countrys efforts to deliver on the National Vision 2025.
The focus of Mkukuta is outcome orientated and organised around three clusters: Growth and reduction of income poverty, improved quality of life and social well-being, governance and accountability.
SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY
By Polycarp Machira
18th April 2010
Minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Mustapha Mkullo
The government has failed to reduce the incidence of basic needs poverty to 24 percent in rural areas and to 12.9 percent in urban areas by 2010 as outlined in Poverty Reduction Strategy for mainland Tanzania (PRS).
Records from the ministry of Finance and Economic Affairs indicate that poverty rate remains higher in rural areas where 37.6 percent of rural households live below the basic needs poverty line.
Some 24 percent of households in other urban areas live in poverty while 16 percent of Dar es Salaam residents live below public poverty line.
Poverty reduction was among the detailed goals and strategies of the National Strategy for Growth and Reduction of Poverty (NSGRP) commonly known as MKUKUTA from 2005 to 2010.
Speaking in Dodoma during the launch of second phase of the NSGRP, minister for Finance and Economic Affairs, Mustapha Mkullo said MKUKUTA phase one failed in many indicators due to unfavourable weather conditions.
Despite recording achievements in areas like primary, secondary and college enrolment, MKUKUTA faced challenges in many areas like poverty reduction and improvement of agriculture sector, he said.
He added that the government would improve some key areas that did not get the desired attention in the last phase of MKUKUTA.
The minister also noted that agriculture productivity which has greater impact on poverty reduction indicators was not granted keen attention, a factor that would be considered greatly in the second phase.
Mkulo said budget allocation for the agriculture sector will increase this year, though he declined to mention the exact figure. He pointed out that since income poverty is the core indicator in poverty reduction strategy, the failure to achieve it has an impact on other areas of priority.
Data released by the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS) in a Household Survey, between 2001 and 2007 showed that poverty declined by a mere two per cent during the period.
NBS survey indicated that the proportion of Tanzanian population living below the poverty line dropped to 33.3 percent in 2007 from 35.7 percent in 2001, which is a difference of just 2.4 percent.
It also shows that the number of people in Tanzania who have to survive on one $ a day or less had risen by one million to 12.7 million since 2001. Mkulo named other areas that targets were not well achieved include reduction on maternal mortality, human capital development, water supply in rural areas and rural electrification.
On maternal mortality, he said the cause was by lack of balanced diet, long distance to clinics, poor road infrastructure, lack of facilities and enough qualified personnel in the clinics.
The minister said another reason for unsatisfactory achievement in Mkukuta II was that there were too many areas of priority which made it difficult to address all given the scarce resources available.
He said under Mkukuta Phase II whose preparations started in March last year, priority areas would be scaled down in order to direct impact to poverty reduction. It will be operational in July this year.
The launch of the second phase according to the minister would be followed by a series of stakeholders meeting and public awareness. He said the government has decided to consult politicians, civil society organisation and other stakeholders to avoid shortcomings that were solely blamed on the government as it did not consult widely before the implementation of the first phase of MKUKUTA.
Mkukuta is the development framework for the current five year phase (2005-2010). It forms part of the countrys efforts to deliver on the National Vision 2025.
The focus of Mkukuta is outcome orientated and organised around three clusters: Growth and reduction of income poverty, improved quality of life and social well-being, governance and accountability.
SOURCE: GUARDIAN ON SUNDAY
