By CHATULA
KANGALI –
THE Zambia Union of Financial Allied Workers (ZUFIAW) has urged Government to focus on translating economic growth into reducing poverty levels in the country.
ZUFIAW president Ackim Mweemba said in a statement that poverty levels in the country especially in rural areas had adversely affected the livelihood and dignity of people.
He said Zambia’s economic growth had not translated into significant poverty reduction and that 60 per cent of the population was living below the poverty line while 42 per cent was considered to be in extreme poverty.
He noted that the number of poor Zambians had increased from about six million in 1991 to 7.9 million in 2010 due to population growth and the influx of refugees and other immigrants.
“As a country we correctly defined our own development agenda through the Vision 2030. We are also committed to ending hunger in Africa by 2025 as per the African Union 2014 Malabo declaration and the Sixth National Development Plan (SNDP) which has been revised to suit the government of the day.
The intention of these plans was to promote broad based wealth and job creation through citizenry participation and technological advancement. We need to ensure that the people of Zambia start seeing direct benefits at both personal and household levels,” he said.
Mr Mweemba called on Government to reduce the cost of doing business in rural areas in order to allow more investments.
He said reducing the cost of doing business would allow more farming households in rural areas to accelerate agriculture growth.
Mr Mweemba said Government should also focus on measures that would promote rural income diversification.