4.1 Reasons for wealth/poverty  (Page 3/4)

It is important to keep in mind that a ten-fold increase in population can produce a ten-fold increase in the continent’s problems!

Remember that it is not only the population that is growing – there is an equal increase in the demand for food, educational opportunities, housing, energy and job opportunities. Many social, political, economic and ecological problems grow at the same rate.

Let us take as an example a country where the population grows faster than its capacity to produce food for its inhabitants. If the country has a strong economy and there is money to buy food, everything is fine, but what happens if this is not so?

Help must come from somewhere to buy food. For many years, help came from the “wealthy countries to the North”. But now we have to consider whether the “rich” countries will always come to the help of the “poor” countries?

In the USA, Canada and Europe, farmers produce more food than can be consumed by the inhabitants of those countries. The surplus food can be purchased and distributed in countries with chronic shortages or where natural disasters occur and cause great pain and suffering. Unfortunately, production costs are increasing to such an extent that it is becoming increasingly expensive to buy and distribute wheat, corn and rice to areas of need.

B. The Result:

. . . THE “RICH” NORTH AND THE “POOR” SOUTH

Activity 3:

To identify the reasons ffor the phenomenon of rich and poor

[lo 1.2]

• The following report appeared in Die Burger . Read it carefully and identify one of the reasons why many African countries were unable to rid themselves of backlogs after independence. Write your findings in the space provided below the report.

Leaders Steal Billions From African Countries, Says Obasanjo

LAGOS – According to president Olusegun Obasanjo of Nigeria, African leaders have stolen almost $140 billion (about R1 400 billion) from the continent in the past three or four decades.

On Thursday, in Addis Abeba, the capital city of Ethiopia, Obasanjo said that theft was the main cause of poverty in Africa.

He was addressing delegates from African communities at a conference of the Organisation of African Unity.

Obasanjo also called on world leaders to support Africa in its attempts to recover a part of this stolen money that is hoarded in bank accounts in foreign countries.

He said that African leaders were the main culprits but Western countries that held this stolen money, must also accept part of the responsibility.

He said, “We are attempting to organise an international convention, by which we will be able to recover the moneys stolen by corrupt African leaders and invested in foreign countries.”

“It is not enough to merely blame the developing countries,” Obasanjo said.

“Western countries must support the attempts made to recover the money stolen from our treasuries in practice,” he added.