Report says 40 pct of East Africans in poverty

Saturday, November 30, 2013

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Up to 40 percent of East Africa’s 134 million people are languishing in poverty with only 10 percent of the population being the richest, according to a report obtained here this week.

The State of East Africa Report 2013 launched on Friday says despite being rich in terms of natural resources the gap between the poor and rich in the East African region continues to widen further.

The report titled One People, One Destiny: the future of inequality in East Africa says the poverty level matches the war- torn Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia.

The report anticipates improvement in the quality of life of East Africans through attainment of sustainable growth by the promotion of a balanced and harmonious development.

The report launched by the Society for International Development (SID) suggests equal distribution of benefits and commitment to people centered and market driven competition as envisaged by the EAC Treaty.

Headquartered in Rome, Italy, SID is an international network of individuals and organizations founded in 1957 to promote social justice and foster democratic participation in the development process.

The report shows trends in the last two decades pointing to reducing inequalities in the republics of Rwanda and Burundi.

It notes that the gap between the rich and poor was expanding in Kenya and Tanzania while Uganda has kept stable.

Meanwhile, the report paints a fairly good picture of the East African Community’s economy, saying it recorded an impressive growth rate trend of 6 percent in 2011 and a GDP of 83 billion U. S. dollars.

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