Dear Editor,

I read with concern the letter [ please note: link provided by LOSP web site ] (25.3.2002) captioned "How would poverty reduction strategy help single mothers".

I know as a single mother of three kids too that the requirements of the secondary school are beyond our imagination. With a salary of only $20,000 per month, it is impossible to survive.

I am a business woman who sells provision and fruits or sometimes greens to earn an honest living, yet I find it very hard to maintain my family. My earnings per month are double $20,000. Bills alone take about $6,000 every month.

The poverty reduction strategy and all the other government plans and initiatives won't work if people can't earn decent wages. The money spent to pay the personnel going around meeting the people and youths, especially on this Poverty Reduction Strategy, and the money spent on stationery to print the hand-outs, questionnaires etc for such a programme may be wasted.

The public servants sometimes too 'hustle' to earn a living by dishonest means; or sit back and stare at the member of the public visiting the offices in the government ministries/agencies etc. Most of them waste time and are paid to do so.

Today in our schools the teachers too teach as they feel and are unqualified or just not functionally literate.

People need more money to have a decent living, public servants too.