Poverty growing in SA

2004-07-27 10:13

Elsabe Brits

Cape Town - Growing poverty and increasing inequality are threatening social stability in South Africa.

This emerged from a study conducted by the Ecumenical Foundation of Southern Africa in which several academics took part. Forty percent of the country's population lives in poverty and the poorest of the poor (15%) are involved in a desperate struggle to survive from day to day.

According to the study, 18 million of the country's 45 million people have not shared in the benefits of a decade of freedom.

Dr Chris Landsberg, political analyst at the Centre for Policy Studies, earlier this year warned the poor would rise up against the new black elite and the formerly advantaged.

"I see a society deeply divided between rich and poor over the next decade," he said.

The latest study also refers to this. Along with Brazil, South Africa has the most unequal distribution of income in the world. This figure is higher among black households. Since the economic situation of some families improved dramatically since 1990, the inequality was more glaring.

The Ecumenical Foundation believed that a policy shift away from welfare intervention to development intervention was necessary.

The United States' index for human development showed that South Africa was 119th on the list of countries' quality of life.

The 2004 index, published by the UN's development programme last week, measured countries according to life expectancy, the level of literacy and education, income per person and availability of healthcare.

Last year South Africa was in position 111.

- Die Burger