Inequitable distribution of wealth threat to Africa’s security
The President, Mr John Dramani Mahama, has warned that inequality will continue to pose a threat to the security of the African continent, unless leaders ensure equitable distribution of their countries' wealth among citizens.
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He said for far too long only a minority of the people had benefited from the resources of the continent, a situation that had resulted in conflicts and other disturbing developments.
Opening the Pan-African conference on inequalities in Accra yesterday, Mr Mahama said the fact that Africa had become the very embodiment of inequalities in the world meant that the much talked-about economic growth of the continent would remain meaningless, if it did not reflect in the lives of its people.
“African economies are the second fastest growing in the world today but this growth will not be sustainable unless the issue of inequalities is addressed,” he said.
The three-day conference, organised by the government of Ghana in partnership with various bodies, is aimed at creating an African agenda on inequalities and shaping an African vision on the subject for the next 50 years.
The partners include the Danish International Development Agency (DANIDA), the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).
It hopes to put in place mechanisms to facilitate collaborations that would stimulate policy change and advocacy at the regional and national levels.
Middle-income status
The President said in middle-income nations such as Ghana, inequality was more visible as a result of the increasing middle class.
He noted that although the increasing gap between the haves and have-nots had been a global concern over the years, it was more prevalent in Africa.
“Inequalities have been a major cause of conflicts in the world particularly Africa,” he said and pointed out the need for the United Nations’ declarations on the matter to be taken seriously by all.
Social protection
Mr Mahama advocated strong social protection policies in African nations, saying that was one sure way of bringing the less-privileged out of their despicable situations.
He noted that a nation that neglected social protection for the less-privileged class was bound to face social upheavals.
The Ghanaian situation
Zoning in on Ghana, the President said the country’s social protection strategy had achieved a significant success and the future looked even brighter.
He mentioned the Livelihood Empowerment Against Poverty (LEAP) programme, as a case of Ghana’s success story.
For instance, he said, the programme, which covered 44,000 families in 2013, would be extended to cover 150,000 families by the end of 2014.
The President also said the District Assemblies concept had addressed inequalities to a large extent, explaining that the system had led to a fair distribution of the national cake.
Mr Mahama said Ghana’s strides in electricity supply and education and health development, as well as the school feeding programme, were contributions to addressing inequality to a large extent.
The Chairman of the National Development Planning Commission (NDPC), Mr P.V. Obeng, said the 1992 Constitution placed a responsibility on government to ensure a fair distribution of national resources.
That, he noted, had accounted for some of the strides made in that respect.
A professor of law, Prof. Henrietta Mensah-Bonsu, who chaired the opening ceremony, said Africa could not afford to play to the gallery in the fight against inequality.
There were goodwill messages from the Danish Trade and Development Co-operation, the UNDP Regional Service Centre in Addis Ababa, the United Nations Millennium Campaign and UNICEF among other international bodies.