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{
    "id": 327685,
    "url": "https://info.mzalendo.com/api/v0.1/hansard/entries/327685/?format=api",
    "text_counter": 362,
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    "speaker": null,
    "content": "Mr. Temporary Deputy Speaker, Sir, another very important reason why this Bill should have been there when we started these other programmes that I have mentioned is because we also know that the country has been experiencing economic growth and development but at a very slow pace. We know that we have even higher rates of poverty or higher levels of poverty even than our neighbouring countries. Currently, about 50 per cent of out total population lives below the poverty line. That tells you that a lot of people are vulnerable and would require social assistance. This social assistance would then permit these families to be included in the social economic growth like other able bodies. The food crisis that we are all aware of, if you look at the country even where I come from, we have had this big catastrophe with the maize disease and I can foresee that in a very short while; by December, we will have a crisis in terms of food in the area. We have just been talking earlier on about the north eastern areas where everybody was saying it is marginalized and how we are always sending relief food and all manner of things to these areas. So, we are really saying that there is a food crisis. We have also had the HIV pandemic that has also contributed immensely to the high levels of poverty that we have experienced in our country. We have an increased number of orphans in this country who we are told currently stand at over 2.5 million and they became orphans as a result of the HIV pandemic. It has contributed immensely to the levels of vulnerability amongst our citizens. We have the general poverty levels and inequalities in our society. I am sure we are all well aware about the very few haves and the majority of the have nots that we have in our country. The poorest must be again integrated. Since we are saying that over half of them live below the poverty line, we need them to be integrated into national development. The"
}