Question

Question 3
a. Discuss the assertion that poverty is multifaceted                                                                      b. Why do many African nations such as Ghana with abundant natural resources remain poor?                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                      (Total marks = 15 marks)

Answer 1

a).Poverty is a social condition, which means not having enough money to meet the basic needs of life. The basic needs are food, clothes and shelter. Poverty is a condition in which a person in not able to get even the two times meals a day. Poverty has many faces, it also changes from place to place and across time. The worlds largest poverty is in underdeveloping countries. Poverty increases the mental stress of a person. Poverty is such a situation from which everyone wants to escape. Poverty is an economic state where people are experiencing scarcity or the lack of certain commodities that are required for the lives of human beings like money and material things. Therefore, poverty is a multifaceted concept inclusive of social, economic and political elements.

We know that the poverty is multifaceted phenomenon where different societies have different perceptions of poverty. It varies across countries with different socio-economic norms. It may also change over time even in the same society, with different stages of social and economic development. The notion of ‘poverty’ is diversified and dynamic. It varies across countries with different socio-economic norms. It may also change over time even in the same society, with different stages of social and economic development. A country may be struggling with absolute poverty at the early stages of development, while it may well be more concerned with relative and/or subjective poverty as its average per-capita income increases.

b). Ghana is a country, which falls in the African continent. Ghana is a country with abundent natural resources. Ghana is also famous for its cocoa which is used in making chocolates. Yo can actually buy cocoa itself or even chocolate which is one of the best in Africa. Ghana is also famous for its gold, the land is rich in gold, and lastly Ghana is famous for its nice people. It is one of the peaceful countries in Africa. The typical staple foods in the southern part of Ghana include cassava and plantain. In the northern part, the main staple foods include millet and sorghum. Yam, maize and beans are used across Ghana as staple foods. Sweet potatoes and cocoyam are also important in the Ghanaian diet and cuisine.

As we know Ghana is a country with abundent natural resources.Ghana is endowed with abundant natural resources, which have played a key role in the development efforts of the country.  The major economic natural resources in Ghana are gold, manganese, bauxite, industrial diamonds, timber, rubber, hydropower, petroleum, silver, salt and limestone. “Gold and bauxite alone account for 64.4 per cent of Ghana primary exports. Inspite of the abundence of these natural resources , the country is also poverty ridden as well. large section of the population is living in the state of poverty. The people are not able to fullfill the basic necessaties of life. Gold and bauxite alone account for 64.4 per cent of Ghana primary exports.

Ghana like other African countries has daunting environmental challenges since its economic development depends directly on natural resources. Large tracts of dense forest have been cleared to support increasing cocoa production. Mining is causing localized land degradation and water pollution. A quarter of its people are concentrated along the narrow coastal zone. The poverty of Ghana is on rise.