SA launches war on poverty

2008-07-28 07:23

Pretoria - The government will next month launch a nationwide campaign against poverty, President Thabo Mbeki said on Sunday.

"The war on poverty campaign will be launched in all the (nine) provinces during August. The most deprived wards and households have been identified and will be visited ... to identify needs," he said at a media briefing on the outcome of a Cabinet meeting last week.

"A war-room on poverty has also been established," and the campaign is co-ordinated by the office of the vice-president, he said.

More than four million South Africans live below the poverty line, according to government figures.

Crime target

The government has also set a target to reduce the country's crime rate by between seven and ten percent for the remainder of the tenure of this administration, in a related strand.

The targeted "priority" crimes are murder, rape, violent assault and robbery, he said.

South Africa has one of the world's highest crime rates with some 50 people murdered a day.

A review of the criminal justice system and tackling of crimes among children are also underway in the country, he added.

There are 3 478 children in detention, 820 of them sentenced and kept in correctional facilities, he said.

Finally, Mbeki, who leaves office next year after serving two terms, said that all the venues for hosting the 2009 Confederations Cup and the 2010 World Cup will be ready to meet the deadline set by FIFA.

"We are happy about the progress being made in hosting the World Cup. We will meet the commitment we made to FIFA on hosting the Confederations Cup and the World Cup," he said.

- AFP