Infrastructure key to reducing poverty, says Brazzaville archbishop

Roads, electricity and clean drinking water are easy and essential ways of enabling people to combat poverty, Anatole Milandou, the archbishop of Brazzaville, capital of Republic of Congo, told IRIN on Saturday. "It would be enough to put basic infrastructure in place - road, electricity and water networks - and made accessible to all so that the rest would follow," Milandou said. "The private sector would then push for development. The Congo possesses a wealth of natural resources that remain under-exploited, and which would sure attract private investors." He said the construction of a highway linking the southern port city of Pointe-Noire to the northern city of Ouesso via Brazzaville would bring incalculable economic benefits to the Congolese people and nation. He also emphasised the importance of education in combating poverty. "Elementary education is imperative. In the fight against poverty, one of the most important things we can do is to invest in our children for a brighter future," he said. "Japan, which does not have a great wealth of natural resources, is an example to the rest of the world given its remarkable intellectual achievements." Referring to the country's draft strategy for poverty reduction, which was adopted on 11 February by the cabinet and forwarded to Parliament for consideration, Milandou said that such plans could only bear fruit if everyone involved at all levels fully commit themselves to its realisation. According to official figures, 70 percent of Congolese live below the poverty line. According to the UN Development Programme's Human Development Report for the Congo in 2002, continued socioeconomic crisis in the country has contributed to the decline in the rate of primary education from 95.9 percent to 77.4 percent and secondary education from 61.8 percent to 43.8 percent from 1980 to 2000.