WARNING: This is Version 1 of my old archive, so Photos will NOT work and many links will NOT work. But you can find articles by searching on the Titles. There is a lot of information in this archive. Use the SEARCH BAR at the top right. Prior to December 2012; I was a pro-Christian type of Conservative. I was unaware of the mass of Jewish lies in history, especially the lies regarding WW2 and Hitler. So in here you will find pro-Jewish and pro-Israel material. I was definitely WRONG about the Boeremag and Janusz Walus. They were for real.
Original Post Date: 2008-05-08 Time: 00:00:00 Posted By: Jan
South Africa should not look to “quick fix” solutions such as price controls to tackle rising food prices, Finance Minister Trevor Manuel said on Wednesday.
South Africa, like countries across the world, is battling sharply rising food prices that have helped drive inflation to a five-year high, pushing interest rates higher.
Labour unions have warned of protests similar to those in other African and Asian countries against rising prices, and have demanded goverment intervention.
“I do want to caution the house against quick fix solutions, that actually provide very little for the poor and especially for young children who are badly in need of nutrition,” Manuel told parliament.
“The key issue about food prices is that it is a global matter and that South Africa is not among the 50 worst affected countries at the moment, so we mustn’t be talked into all kinds of panic.”
South Africa’s food inflation acclerated to 15.3 percent year-on-year in March.
Manuel said the problem with quick-fix actions, such as price controls, were the ability to administer them.
Africa’s biggest economy is considering food vouchers and extending tax relief on basic foodstuffs as prices for everyday items such as bread, milk and maize rise beyond the reach of millions of poor people.
Writing in the online web page of the ruling African National Congress party, Manuel earlier in the week said any intervention needed to be well targeted and take appropriate short and longer-term food security needs into account.
“Managed well, high food prices can be a boon for South Africa, but the impact on the poor must be a key feature of government policy,” he said.
In the article, he said public policy responses to food prices should concentrate on income support to the poor and on efforts to boost agricultural production.
Source: http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?art_id=nw20080507182145757C579733