The south of the Big Island has long been plagued by a multi-year drought. |
The South of the Big Island is plagued by extreme poverty. According to the World Bank, this is due to a lack of investment, but also to the effects of climate change.
Chronic poverty. It turns out that the Anosy, Androy and Atsimo-Andrefana regions concentrate the highest rate of poverty. Nearly 91% of the population of the Great South lives below the poverty line. A situation which disadvantages these localities, which nevertheless have rich potential.
In a report on poverty dated April, the World Bank attributes this situation to “chronic underinvestment” by successive governments. This neglect has caused the region to lag significantly behind the rest of the country, according to the financial institution. However, other factors also contributed to this situation.
Other factors hinder the development of the South of the country. For example, there is the lack of diversification of the means of production. Simply put, for millennia, agriculture and fishing have been the primary means of livelihood in these areas. Now, these two ways of life are threatened, if not prey to repeated annual shocks.
The World Bank also points to multi-year drought and the Covid-19 pandemic as one of the reasons for this poverty. “With a multi-year drought amplifying the impacts, the Covid-19 pandemic has strained livelihoods and human development and increased dependence on humanitarian aid,” the institution said. of Bretton Woods in its country partnership framework for the period 2023-2027.
Bold reform
The south of the island has long been marginalized. For almost fifty years, humanitarian projects have followed one another, without anything being done. Difficult to summarize in a few lines a problem that dates back centuries, however, it seems that this concern is eternal. It became more pronounced at the end of the 1950s, when the colonial administration began to leave, giving way to the First Republic.
Seen as a region of political recalcitrants, the South of the Big Island found itself landlocked “geographically and politically”, as historical documents attest. A situation which nevertheless seems paradoxical, given the number of major projects which have been launched there. Significant mineral and land reserves are also underexploited. There are, for example, the ilmenite mining projects in Tolagnaro, the graphite mining project in Fotadrevo, the rare earth extraction project in which Base Resources (parent company of Base Toliara) has embarked. Projects that have created jobs and added value to mining products in the South. However, insecurity slows down the smooth running of mining operations.
Overall, the fight against poverty is also a matter of improving the business climate. To attract more investors to use their money in meaningful projects. Atou Seck, head of World Bank operations for Madagascar, says that “the fight against poverty in Madagascar requires a bold pro-growth reform that will improve the business climate, encourage competition, strengthen human capital, invest in connectivity, energy access and digital infrastructure, and will boost agricultural productivity.”
Before adding that “by implementing such measures, Madagascar can create an environment conducive to private sector growth, job creation and poverty reduction, which will benefit all of population “.
Itamara Randriamamonjy
Mona Keijzer says that 540 Ukrainians come every week and receive free care and housing. Is that correct? LC figures it out
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BBB MP Mona Keijzer stated in an interview that 540 Ukrainians come to the Netherlands every week and that there is an attractive effect because they receive free care and housing here. Is that correct? LC figured it out.
Keijzer is concerned that more and more refugees from Ukraine are coming to the Netherlands. “We now have 540 coming per week,” she said literally in an interview with NRC also appeared in LC . That is not entirely correct, but also not out of the blue.
That figure of 540 is a forecast that she took from the Spring Memorandum, she explained to Jeroen Pauw on NPO1 on Thursday evening. She acknowledged that it is a different number than the actual number that came to the Netherlands recently.
Figures from the Ministry of Justice and Security show that until last month, an average of 255 Ukrainians came to the Netherlands per week. Significantly less than the 540. And that number has not increased enormously in recent weeks.
The last week recorded by the ministry, up to April 26, 290 Ukrainians arrived. In the weeks before it varied somewhat; one week 80, the week before 230, before that 140, before that 340 and so on. The figure of 540 has never been achieved per week throughout the year.
Now still 255, but forecast 540
But in a letter from the same Ministry of Justice and Security dated April 5, a prediction is made, a so-called Multi-Year Production Forecast. According to the ministry, an average net influx of Ukrainians of between 350 and 780 is expected in the current year of 2024. The ministry writes later in the letter that it therefore expects an average influx of 540 Ukrainians per week.
Taken literally, Keijzer’s quote is not correct. There are not “now” 540 per week. But this is about context. Keijzer made her statement because she is concerned about the increasing influx of Ukrainians, the count of which stood at 109,980 at the end of April, according to the previously mentioned figures from the ministry. That number could rise to 136,000, according to the ministry’s letter about the forecast.
It is understandable that a Member of Parliament, in a discussion about an increase in the number of Ukrainian refugees, uses figures from a forecast by the ministry itself. This increase is precisely what the Multi-Year Production Forecast is about. She only used the word “now”, meaning that so many Ukrainians already come every week.
We therefore describe her statement as ‘partly correct’.
Free healthcare and housing?
Her other statement was that Ukrainian refugees receive free care and housing while they are also allowed to work and therefore earn money. According to her, this would have an attractive effect because the Netherlands offers a more luxurious scheme than other countries. According to State Secretary Eric van der Burg, the arrangement in the Netherlands is indeed better than in countries such as Moldova or Slovakia, but approximately the same or even slightly worse than in Germany.
Keijzer is right that this group of refugees has so far received free care and housing in the Netherlands. If they do not work, they also receive a living allowance per adult, consisting of clothing allowance, dining allowance and an allowance of 384.10 euros per month. That will be reduced somewhat in 2023.
There has been a discussion about living allowances and rent in the House of Representatives. According to State Secretary Van der Burg, it is not wise to make Ukrainians pay normal rent because they will then also build up tenants’ rights such as rental protection. They can then no longer be evicted.
The State Secretary has decided to soon introduce a personal contribution for Ukrainians who work. They must then contribute 105 euros per month. But that personal contribution does not yet apply. That is why we must describe Keijzer’s statement as ‘correct’.
Debt advice: Cases increase by 17 percent
Compared to 2022, this is an increase of 17 percent and the highest value in twelve years, says Clemens Mitterlehner. The managing director of asb, the umbrella organization for debt advice, presented the current debt report together with Social and Health Minister Johannes Rauch (Greens).
Almost one in three people who sought help from debt counseling for the first time in the previous year fell into debt due to unemployment or a deterioration in income. A fifth report how they deal with money.
For 18 percent, previous self-employment was the reason for excessive indebtedness. Twelve percent of applicants mentioned the increased cost of living; in 2022 this only affected five percent.
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Living at the subsistence level
According to the data, the median income of debt counseling clients is 1,400 euros. Around a third of the counseling centers’ clients live on the subsistence level – this is the amount that cannot be seized and must remain with the debtor. Currently that’s 1,217 euros, not enough for many people to live on, said Mitterlehner.
He is calling for the amount to be increased to around 1,700 euros and for unemployment benefits to be increased. Unemployed people should therefore receive a net replacement rate of 70 instead of the current 55 percent. 33 percent of debt counseling clients are unemployed, 46 percent are in debt despite working.
Minister of Social Affairs Rauch, who was involved in debt counseling before politics, drew attention to the consequences of debt. “Debt makes you sick, those affected are under constant pressure.” Debt is not just an individual fault, there are also structural causes – but these are often swept under the table for private individuals. The federal government spent a total of more than 40 billion euros on measures, and social and family benefits were adjusted to inflation.
Video: The current debt report was presented on Monday
Criticism of the coalition partner
But other projects cannot be implemented, said Rauch, who repeatedly criticized his coalition partner ÖVP. A nationwide minimum security is needed instead of the existing social assistance, federal states such as Upper Austria and Lower Austria would use their leeway and pay out less.
The government partner would block the planned plan to more strictly regulate debt collection agencies – which “make stupid and stupid money from indebted people” -. Rauch specifically mentioned the Chamber of Commerce.
The collection of data on the debt situation will soon improve. In the future, execution data can be linked anonymously with other statistical and administrative data.
The number of private bankruptcies rose by eight percent to 8,857 last year; the average age of those affected is 45 years. “Many people cannot afford personal bankruptcy,” said Mitterlehner. The opportunity for private individuals to manage debt relief within three years instead of five is legally limited to mid-2026. The debt advisors demand that this option should continue to exist.
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Verena Mitterlechner
Verena Mitterlechner
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