Poverty reduction strategy papers : to what extent is the goal of national ownership being achieved?

Abstract

The Poverty Reduction Strategy (PRS) process is an initiative by the World Bank and International Monetary Fund (IMF) and various Highly Indebted Poor Countries (HIPC) deal with poverty.It is in some sense an updated and improved version of the Structural Adjustment Programmes (SAPs) that were implemented in the 1980s.This study examines one of the central aspects of the PRS process which is national ownership that is expected to be achieved by means of the participation of various interested groups and individuals in the formulation of the Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRS Paper).These would include: non -governmental organizations, civil society organizations, faith based organizations, academics, women's groups, academics and members from the private sector.National ownership of the formulation of the RPS Paper is examined by looking at 4 country studies, namely, Malawi, Mozambique, Tanzania and Zambia.iv Chapter One: IntroductionIt is estimated that 1.9 billion people live in absolute poverty 1 .Absolute poverty is a term used to define the state of poverty in which income is insufficient for maintaining a minimum standard of living.According to the World Bank, people who live on less than a dollar a day, that is, below the poverty line, are classified as absolutely poor 2 .The majority of the absolute poor reside in developing and third world countries.While there is no universal definition of a developing country, generally, the term is used to describe the low level of material well-being as well as the standard of living in a country 3 .Some developing countries are more industrialized than others and so the standard of living varies.In most cases, a feature of a developing country would be its weak infrastructure.For instance, roads are not well maintained and neither are basic institutions such as schools and hospitals, which are kept in a very poor state.There is also a lack of adequate housing and people resort to living in slums where they are exposed to illness and disease.There can be many reasons for these weaknesses, including weak leadership, corruption, and/or a turbulent and violent past in which the effects have damaged or crippled a country's economy to the extent that it is unable to provide for its citizens.Most developing countries are situated in the global South, most notably, South America, South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa.The poorest of the poor reside in these countries, some of which are known as Least Developed Countries (LDC) or Third World Countries.An LDC is a country with a very low per capita income.The Economic and Social Council of the United Nations uses three criteria which identifies an LDC.This includes: 1) A low income gross domestic product; 2) Human resource weaknesses such as health, nutrition and adult illiteracy; and 3) Economic vulnerability such as the instability of agricultural production as well as the instability of exports of goods and services 4 .A developed country on the other hand, not only has a far better 1 World Bank Poverty Figures:

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