She asked NGOs like Social Watch to continue to keep a critical eye on governments. The World Bank - Ms. Ramphele spoke on the enabling environment from the perspective of communities and the role they play in strengthening it. Transparent communities can play a vital role, working with government agencies, in ensuring accountability of both government and citizens as, for example, communities in Andhra Pradesh in India that have got together to prevent deforestation and illegal encroachment of thousands of hectares of forest land. NGOs in Peru spearheaded recent legislation on property rights. It is worth pointing out, she said, that the world today is not without resources to end poverty.
Enormous wealth exists alongside enormous poverty.
Mobilising resources to bridge the rich-poor gap is the biggest challenge faced by the international community today. Guinea - Mr. Diallo said he spoke as a simple farmer from Guinea. Poverty was a serious problem in his country, with 70 per cent of people illiterate and 52 per cent absolutely poor. Although Guinea's farm unions have succeeded in improving the state of farming, they still face enormous problems, such as the lack of a road from Fouta Djallon to the capital. Farm families have jobs, even though the farm holdings are small, no more than 200 square metres, barely enough for survival.