Survey:Poor Ugandans rise to 9 million

New figures show that the number of Ugandans who cannot afford basic needs in life such as food, clothing, water, education and shelter has risen from eight to nine million to date. The latest household survey for 2005/06 by Uganda Bureau of Statistics puts the number of Ugandans living in abject poverty to nine million, a figure which is undermining a renewed government push to fight poverty.“It’s unfortunate that instead of the government reducing poverty, it’s instead rising every day,” Mr Oduman Okello (FDC, MP Bukedia) said. “We are now talking about millions of our people living in the jaws of poverty, yet every year in and out, the government continues to lament that something is being done.” Dr Ezra Suruma, the Finance Minister was at the receiving end yesterday during a Parliamentary Finance Committee session. He was asked to shed more light on the rising poverty levels in the country. During a 2008/09 Budget blue-print meeting, various enraged legislators put Dr Suruma to task to explain why over the years the national Budget estimates have failed to translate into reduced poverty; which is biting many Ugandans in the countryside. Interestingly, Dr Suruma attributed the increasing poverty levels to rising population in the country. “It’s not true that we are doing nothing to reduce poverty in the country,” Dr Suruma said. “I don’t agree that there is no poverty decline at all, the poverty increase in absolute terms is as a result of the increased population.” Claiming that poverty has declined, Dr Suruma told the committee that although there was a sharp poverty increase in 2003, where the poor at the time increased from 35 per cent to 38 per cent, there was a decline to 31 per cent in 2006.