The Anglican Archbishop of Cape Town, the Most Revd Njongonkulu Ndungane, has called for a national programme of fasting as a way of eradicating poverty.

Delivering his charge this evening at St George's Cathedral at the start of the Synod of the Diocese of Cape Town, Archbishop Ndungane reiterated his stance that it was unacceptable for poverty to exist in an advanced technological society that has found solutions to the most complex problems. He said that the world had the material and natural resources, the know-how and the people, to bring about a poverty free world in less than a generation.

"A concerted effort from all sectors of society is required now to eradicate poverty," he added.

Archbishop Ndungane said people should adopt as their motto "give a meal a week so that everyone has a meal a day". This would entail committing themselves to sacrificing a meal a week until the Year of Jubilee, the year 2000. (The Year of Jubilee is an initiative begun by the Pope and supported by a wide range of organisations which is lobbying for the cancellation of the debt of developing countries. Its supporters believe this to be a crucial step in the eradication of poverty.)

The Archbishop suggested that Anglicans in the Diocese take the money they save by sacrificing a meal a week and donate it to a special fund to help specifically with programmes to eradicate poverty. These would not necessarily go to feeding programmes, but also to ones aimed at development and empowerment.

Archbishop Ndungane pointed out that the funds generated could be substantial - a parish with 250 families would contribute over R1-million by the turn of the century if each family gave an average of only R25 a week over the period.

An added spin-off would be that commerce and industry, other denominations and religious faiths, NGOs and government might be persuaded to become part of such an initiative.

"All right-thinking people in this country desire economic growth for they know that it will contribute to less unemployment and improvement in the quality of life of our people. I cannot believe anyone who can afford such a small sacrifice would be unwilling to participate in such a venture," he said.