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, have a problem separating politics from development because politi cal decisions enhance or undermine development. $rguably, political interests can be attributed to the plight of the poor and vulnerable groups in society.
Poverty is a structural problem there are those who are better positioned to live good lives while there are those who live a life of struggle because they lacN opportunities. +owever, there are countries that successfully adopted the 0illennium 'evelopment Goals to lift millions of their people out of poverty.
(swatini is a lower middle income country with a population of roughly
. million and has the th highest income ineTuality in the world at per cent. Poverty is often defined by
one dimensional measures usual ly based on income, however, more realistically, poverty is multidimen sional.
$ccording to the :orld %anN, these dimensions include deprivations e[perienced by poor people in their daily lives ± such as poor health, lacN of education, inadeTuate living stand ards, disempowerment, poor Tuality of worN, the threat of violence and living in areas that are environmentally ha] ardous, among others.
Poor
People living in e[tremely poor households suffer from severe hun ger, become physically weaN, tend to sell or consume their productive assets livestocN, tools, seed , give up investing in their future sending children to school and die from in fections that other people survive. )or these reasons, e[tremely poor people are slow to respond to programmes
which demand a certain amount of effort and contribution credit and saving schemes .
7he (swatini poverty situation needs to change. 7o this end, ema6wati should raise their voices in organi]ed groups. :e need 0Ps who will stay true to their campaigns by performing their duties in the interest of their con stituencies. :e need a justice system and a human rights commission that will protect the rights of the poor and vulnerable groups. :e also need an $nti &orruption &ommission that will stop corruption because it affects the poor.
(ma6wati need a pro poor budget where job creation, education, fight ing hunger, among others will be prioritised. 7his includes a land policy where ema6wati will not be subjected to land grabs and evictions.
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