Editor,

Reference is made to the letter, "Fighting poverty should be viewed with a bigger lens” (The New Times, May 18).

I like Mr Nziyonsenga’s historical analysis, but he failed to fully explore the root cause of political conflict and economic crises which, in my view, are what gives birth to poverty in Africa.

As far as I'm concerned, poverty is manufactured by bad governance on our continent. From my brief analysis, poverty is principally caused by a leader’s wish to hang onto power as long as it takes, thus crashing the opposition and upholding corruption.

Evidence of this experience is next door Burundi.

We all know how this has become a plague to the entire continent, apart from the few countries which are slowly realising that political stability is the best way to alleviate poverty. This means that leaders would only focus on investing in their people without any distractions. Indeed, liberating leadership firmly upholds equal opportunity for all citizens.

Leadership should come and go peacefully without military coups — in other words, decisions about leadership should be determined through genuine free and fair elections.

It’s only us who hold the key to eliminating poverty in our midst!

Henry Settimba

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Deficiency in political leadership is one among many effects of individual and collective impoverished mindset.

It all started with our leaders, "les rois nègres (negro kings)”, selling their conquered and own subjects as slaves. Our own Mwami Musinga is among only a handful of African kings that categorically rejected the idea of selling their 'people'.

Yet, up to date, in post-colonial era, people are still being sold along other natural resources! All this in the interest of foreign actors.

Francois-Xavier Nziyonsenga