Poor people in both developed and developing countries the world over, have always been in danger. 

There is, therefore, a need to end this ugly scenario in all Sub-Saharan countries.

Exploitation of the poor by the rich should not be tolerated in this century.

The article exposes the possible exploiters of the poor by highlighting some typical examples from Rwanda.

Definition of poor

Who are the poor in this context?

The poor are those characterized by absence of purchasing power, low human capital accumulation, and low standards of living.

The poor (and the very-poor) are those that differ from the rest of the population in socioeconomic and demographic characteristics, and employment status.

The recent hike of cement prices in Rwanda, for instance, especially to the last consumer who ranks among the poor has prompted us to highlight their plight not only in the cement issue but also in all spheres of all life.

Cement manufacturers are always examining how to best to improve the efficiency of their plants, reduce energy consumption and lower their operating costs.

They are regularly contacted by suppliers anxious to explain the latest equipment for effecting upgrading and improving the existing facilities.

What could have a significant bearing on the cement makers’ decisions will be what they learn from the experiences of other cement producers.

Founded in 1958, Cyangugu Cement Factory is a medium state-owned enterprise. It is meant to produce primarily cement, cogeneration, all kinds of additives for concrete.

The factory covers an area about 9.6 hectares.

But they do not seem to go as far as catering for the final consumer who actually completes the chain to allow them continue their profit-making production.

There have been number of complaints from final consumers that they were being over priced by a number of retailers, but the authorities concerned are not reacting accordingly.

The last consumer buys a sack of cement at Frw12000 (almost twice the factory price) in a rather disturbing manner.

The retailer’s argument is a funny one; that when they make an order from a wholesaler, they take more than one month to be supplied.

This delay therefore, becomes a good reason to double the price and maximally exploit the consumers.

Counting profits on the delay of supply by punishing final consumers with unimaginable prices cannot be tolerated.

Nobody should sit and look at it without action!

Wholesalers too are to be blamed for being either directly or indirectly involved in this lucrative exploitation of cement users in the country, under the disguise of scarcity in production.

The final consumers are vulnerable to unnecessary exploitation in the name of cement scarcity in the country.

The poor peasant is affected not only by the direct economic exploitation like the one mentioned above, but also by a number of other challenges that do not spare her.

Road transport is the dominant form of transport in Sub-Saharan Africa including, of course, Rwanda.

It carries 80 to 90 per cent of the region’s passenger and freight transport and provides the only form of access to most rural communities.

In spite of their importance, most roads in Africa – and Rwanda in particular – are poorly managed and badly maintained for a number of reasons.

Globally, road accidents rank second among the leading causes of death in young adults.

According to statistics from the World Health Oranization (WHO), crashes kill 1.2 million people per year around the world and injure an estimated 20 to 50 million more.

The problem is especially severe in developing countries, which account for more than 85 per cent of the world’s traffic fatalities.

Most victims are found in poor populations that largely depend on public transport.

Public transport is the most dangerous means of travelling for drivers are reckless and drive vehicles that are in dangerous mechanical conditions, popularly known as DMCs.

This is typical of all poor/African countries where passengers sit lip tight as a reckless driver drives them to their death as obedient sheep.

They do not argue, complain or disembark for they are hand-cuffed by poverty and ignorance – the worst enemy of men and women.

Children make up a large percentage of those killed as pedestrians.

They are frequently knocked down by zooming vehicles as they try to move from point A to point B  without knowing how to use or cross highways.

Children cannot be taught by parents because they themselves do not know road safety regulations.

Their parents only survive through instinct and experience they have by virtue of their age.

Other causes of accidents

All this notwithstanding, a number of other factors cause road death epidemics of which traffic police should be aware.

These factors include speeding, alcohol and drug abuse, driver negligence, overloaded vehicles, inadequate vehicle maintenance, burst tires, bad roads, pedestrian negligence, driver fatigue, and drivers distracted while speaking on cell phones.

All these cases happen when passengers and pedestrians are not aware.

They ignorantly sit in vehicles and wait for their next destination, which is never the one they expect in most cases, for it can lead them to death too.

While Rwanda has established road safety precautions to address this problem, there is evident inefficiency due to lack of funding to get appropriate equipment like radar.

Health

According to the WHO report, one death in three, worldwide, is from an infectious or communicable disease, such as HIV/Aids.

Almost all of these deaths, however, occur in the non-industrialized world.

Health inequality effects not just how people live, but often dictates how and at what age they die.

The poor are therefore not only exposed to infection but also death at any time.

The safety of what they drink, the treatment they received, their shelter, the alcohol and milk they drink, etc., increase his/ her vulnerability each and every year.

The poor thus cannot escape death for he/she is exposed to the 10 most deadly diseases of the poor, including HIV/Aids, lower respiratory infections, ischaemic heart disease, diarrhoeal diseases, cerebrovascular disease, childhood diseases, malaria, tuberculosis, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, and measles.

Poor countries, Rwanda in particular, still have a long way to go in controlling maternal and infant death rate.

A number of hospitals and dispensaries in the country cannot cope with extreme difficulties encountered, for example, in maternity wards with cases of abnormal deliveries such as breech babies, dystocia, and multiple pregnancy.

Nutritional Status and Poverty

Sub-Saharan Africa has had an aggregate malnutrition rate of nearly 30 per cent for the last decade.

While malnutrition prevalence has decreased significantly in most other developing countries in the last decade, it has been nearly static for this region.

In Rwanda, poverty is one of the main factors contributing to the high and static prevalence of malnutrition.

Significant poverty reduction would be a necessary contributor to any significant improvement in nutritional status in the country.

Improvements in income for the poor and their food security, both in terms of quantity and quality, and better-designed programs in nutrition and health awareness, may have a more significant impact on nutritional status in Rwanda.

Way Forward:

Education is the key to breaking the cycle of poverty in the developing world, and in the developed world alike.

It is well understood that poor, uneducated children grow up to be poor, uneducated adults.

Lack of healthy food, health care, and a stimulating environment lowers children’s ability to learn for the rest of their lives.

Lack of education means being condemned to a life of poverty which leaves children susceptible to all kinds of exploitation and health issues.

The existence of widespread poverty in developing nations constitutes a mass denial of human rights.

Poverty prevents nations from developing as wholes, as poverty perpetuates problems including infant mortality, illiteracy, AIDS, overpopulation, child labor, and other forms of exploitation.

Providing all children with a minimum standard of living, including access to adequate food, safe water and sanitation, primary health care, and basic education is all we can do.

The poor are always at risk of all forms of exploitation. We have to witness an end to such ugly scenarios.

Ends