WHAT IS THE LINK BETWEEN INFRASTRUCTURE DEVELOPMENT AND POVERTY ALLEVIATION? ERASTUS MISHENGÚ M: Pr.CPM:MCIOB:MRICS:MPMI

GOAL 1 Eradicate Extreme Poverty and Hunger WHAT ARE WE DOING????????? WHAT IS THE STATUS NOW? HOW DO WE MEASURE POVERTY? The World Bank estimates that the effects of the economic crisis will push an additional 64 million people into extreme poverty in 2010, and that poverty rates will be slightly higher in 2015 and beyond than they would have been without the crisis, mostly in sub-Saharan Africa and Eastern and South- Eastern Asia. In 2015, roughly 920 million people would still be living under the international poverty line of $1.25 a day, as adjusted by the World Bank in 2008.

Over the last few decades there has been a gradual broadening of the concept of poverty from the static concept of monetary income to include other dimensions of well- being such as, for example,  life expectancy and literacy. It has also been proposed that the well-being of the poor be assessed in terms of their exposure to  risk,  their vulnerability and  powerlessness. HOW DO WE MEASURE POVERTY?

This multi-dimensionality of well-being means that the effectiveness of interventions to attack poverty have to be assessed in broader terms. Infrastructure is a key element of poverty alleviation. It often acts as a catalyst to development and enhances the impact of interventions to improve the poor’s access to other assets, e.g., human, social, financial, and natural assets.

 Without roads, the poor are not able to sell their output on the market.  Without electricity, the industrialization process, which provides the poor an important source of employment is unlikely to take off.  Without potable water and sanitation health is at risk. Impact of Infrastructure development on the poor It is felt both on the economic and social sectors. Thus social and economic impact often go hand in hand.

However, the link between infrastructure and poverty is no more obvious than that between famine and crop production. In infrastructure terms, entitlement translates into access.  What good is a road if it has no transport services or  the poor can only afford to walk?  What good is electrification if the poor can’t afford to connect? Exclusion of the poor from access to infrastructure operates essentially in three ways; i)through location, ii)pricing, and iii)socio-political factors.

The level of infrastructure development:  stable electricity,  gas,  water, and  heat supply -  is important for the living conditions of the population and for business activities, and  creates favourable conditions for the activities of the population. Therefore

Infrastructure - which is also  roads,  buildings,  good potable water that reduces the quantity of illness,  ecological improvement,  telephones, computer development,  better communication between the countryside and cities, and  access to hospitals, helps to reduce poverty.

There can be no prosperity without development. Yet past infrastructure strategies have neglected the poorest population groups. (IRIN)

Status Quo of Africa’s Infrastructure Less than 10% (in 10 countries) and less than 50% (in 33 countries) of roads in Africa are paved. 40% of the population lacks access to safe water. 60% of the population lacks basic sanitation. Only 30% of the rural population in Sub-Saharan Africa has access to all-season roads. Transport costs in Africa are among the highest in the world; Only 30 percent of African population have access to electricity; Africa has the lowest telephone penetration – 14% (the world average is 52%). Africa has the lowest Internet penetration – 3% (the world average is 14%). Source: Development Research Brief, AfDB, 2009.

Factors that have contributed to limited infrastructure development in the continent include; Insufficient allocated funds for infrastructure development Lack of a national infrastructure development framework in many countries, Lack of detailed and reliable data to help determine financing gaps for infrastructure investment, rehabilitation and maintenance, AU-NEPAD regional projects are not sufficiently prioritized in country budgets, Lack of resources for upstream project preparation, and Lack of clear national ownership of regional projects, making project preparation more challenging The global financial crisis and its continuing consequences, results in cut in investments and new expenditures.

THAT’S WHAT TIME ALLOWS FOR. LETS DISCUSS.