The most probable reason poverty exists, is insufficient work opportunities in combination with a lack of basic education and skills training, or is it?

In Africa, drought is labled as the most common cause of poverty, assisted often by a war here and there, a touch of genocide or the self enrichment of a political dictator and his merry men. Poverty is the scourge of Africa, it knows no boundaries and to quote Mr Jacob Zuma, it knows no colour.

During a recent television report it was stated that five children per day die in South Africa from malnutrition and that the incidence of abandoned babies has increased by one-third, shocking statistics from one of the wealthiest economies in Africa, one can only imagine the true extent of this problem.

Poverty cannot be categorised as another legacy of apartheid and simply swept under the carpet, it is not unique to those countries with a history of racism or other human rights atrocities. Poverty is a human catastrophe and growing, the upward trend of food and power prices, the implications of both global warming and the increase in the price of oil are all factors ensuring this trend remains.

The question is whether poverty is an unavoidable phenomenon or is it an unintentional creation of society. Our leaders talk glibly of job creation, particularly during election speeches, often seen cutting ribbon in front of the cameras at some local self-help project, this is not nearly enough to reverse a trend. » Read more: Poverty – The Scourge of Africa