Politics Okonjo-Iweala: Nigeria Suffering from Resource Curse - ThisDay Live

Vunderkind

Social Member
The Coordinating Minister for the Economy and Minister of Finance, Dr. Ngozi Okonjo-Iweala, has said the country appears to be suffering from resource curse, whereby a tiny elite benefits from the oil wealth, whereas the mass of people languish in abject poverty.

The finance minister, who said this in an interview posted on the website of the Council on Foreign Relations, Washington DC, noted that although since 2004, the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) had tripled, largely due to oil revenue, the lifestyle perception of poverty had actually gone up because of rising inequality.

Okonjo-Iweala said: “The pace of growth should be faster. We should not be content with growing at an average of seven per cent.

“In order to make appreciable inroads out of poverty, like China did, we actually have to perform like China and grow at nine to 10 per cent a year. Because everybody else is growing at one per cent and some are contracting, seven per cent looks pretty good. But with the poverty problems we have, we actually have to grow faster.”

okonjo.jpg


Click to read more

Source: ThisDay Live
 
Back
Top