Poverty eradication tops presidential meeting agenda

Wednesday, October 17, 2012

Pretoria - President Jacob Zuma will hold a meeting with social partners today as South Africa joins the world in marking the International Day for the Eradication of Poverty.

The International Day for the Eradication of Poverty is marked each year on 17 October to raise awareness of the need to eradicate poverty around the world. The day was designated by the United Nations in 1993.

The theme of the 2012 International Day is 'Ending the Violence of Extreme Poverty: Promoting Empowerment and Building Peace'.

"On this important day for South Africa's own agenda of fighting poverty, the President will reconvene the Presidential High Level Dialogue on the Economy for a follow up discussion with organised business, organised labour and the community sector," the Presidency said.

It said the meeting will discuss challenges that South Africa faces, based on slowing global growth, the industrial relations environment in the country, and the need to speed up the fight against poverty, inequality as well as unemployment.

The constituents will be led by the Presidents of Business Unity South Africa, the Black Business Council, Cosatu, Fedusa and Nactu, and the overall convenor of the community constituency at Nedlac. Ministers from the Economic and Security Clusters will also attend the meeting.

Zuma will later in the day meet with the leadership of the Progressive Women's Movement of South Africa that was elected in July this year at a conference in Mthatha.

At that meeting, the discussions will centre on developmental programmes for women in the country. Women and the youth, especially black women, feel the brunt of poverty, inequality and unemployment most. - SAnews.gov.za