Pretoria - Churches are ideal organs of civil society to help the nation reverse the vicious tide of poverty, says Gauteng Infrastructure Development MEC Nandi Mayathula-Khoza.
Speaking at the National Conference to the National Baptist Church of Southern Africa (NBCSA), on Tuesday, MEC Mayathula-Khoza said this was the case because the churches’ moral and spiritual high ground would not allow poverty and suffering.
“The democratic government, just like you is unable to reconcile righteousness with racial discrimination, poverty, inequality and mass unemployment, all of which are the annoying inheritance dumped on us by the successive racist governments of the past,” she said.
The church role in communities, she said, gives government the strength to rollout programmes to radically increase poverty reduction efforts that address the needs of families, households and citizens living with inadequate financial and social support networks.
The MEC said the initiatives of the community development by the churches enhances the overarching strategic objective of government which is to change the lives of all South Africans for the better, to give freedom and democracy meaning for ordinary and poor South Africans
“We know that in spite of the fact that we grow the economy of Gauteng consistently above the National average, reaching 1.7% in 2014 since 2003; that our R1 trillion provincial economy contributes 34% to the country GDP; and accounts for 10% of Africa’s GDP; the black majority of the Gauteng citizens bear the brunt of poverty, unemployment and inequality, in spite of progress made during the last 21 years,” said the MEC. - SAnews.gov.za
