Manuel told the media during the launch of the World Bank's Commission for Growth and Development report in Cape Town yesterday that government anti-poverty programmes could only work if the poor took more responsibility for improving their situation.

Earlier this month Ms De Lille slammed the Finance Minister for suggesting that the poor would squander food vouchers on alcohol.

'Manuel wants us to think he is an expert on what he sees as the unique weaknesses of character of poor people in our country, when all he is doing is providing us with the reasons behind his budgetary conservatism,' De Lille says.

'The poor should get actively involved - unfortunately this link is lacking in South Africa,' Manuel told the media. He added that land was now laying fallow in rural areas because people were getting social grants.

'Instead of attacking the poor Manuel should be looking at identifying the obstacles that are preventing rural people from growing crops and selling them on the market,' says De Lille.

'For instance, there are often no roads in rural areas, making it difficult to get produce to supermarkets and secondly, supermarkets buy their produce from big commercial farmers in other areas, making it impossible for local farmers to break into this market.

'The reason why land is laying fallow is because of the complete lack of a proper rural development strategy in South Africa,' says De Lille.

'The ID firmly believes in people-centred development, where the capacity within communities is unlocked and government provides the finances to fuel that potential,' De Lille says.

'The poor have always been ready to take their development into their own hands, but government spends all its time talking with consultants, rather than with the poor.

'The ID believes in community involvement and participation, not the further alienation of the poor,' says De Lille.

'Manuel must blame his own conservative economic policy and not the poor. He must stop taking advice from the World Bank and the IMF and go and listen to the poor.'

'The World Bank's conservative economic policies and structural adjustment programmes have been of no benefit to the poor in Africa,' De Lille says.