PHOTO | FILE CORD leader and former Prime Minister Raila Odinga
addressing the press in the past. Poverty and rising inequality among
citizens are killing democracy in Africa, according to former premier.
Poverty and rising inequality among citizens are killing democracy in Africa, according to former Prime Minister Raila Odinga.
While
speaking at the Annual Conference of the Alliance of Liberals and
Democrats for Europe, Pacific, Africa and the Caribbean in Cape Town,
South Africa, Mr Odinga said rising poverty could spell doom for
democracy in the continent.
“Poor citizens feel
voiceless and helpless in the debates that shape elections. They feel
they have no power to determine what is important and what is not in an
election year. They believe democracy is on sale and leadership goes to
the highest bidder. In the end, this is a threat to democracy, to growth
and to stability,” Mr Odinga said, according to a statement issued by
his spokesman, Mr Dennis Onyango.
He urged African
governments to make a priority to policies that would help narrow income
inequality among segments in society and promote opportunity for the
poor as the continent’s growth picks up.
Mr Odinga said
that while African countries form the majority of top 10 growing
economies in the world, their growth was neck to neck with extreme
poverty, with almost one out of every two Africans living in extreme
poverty.
The Cord leader called for far-reaching and inclusive economic reforms to improve people’s lives.
“Economic
reforms in Africa have hardly paid attention to people struggling to
meet the demands of their daily life at the bottom of the ladder.
They have never focused on ensuring upward mobility for those at the bottom,” he said.
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