United Nations report highlights growing inequality in South Africa

The tenth anniversary of the end of apartheid and the first democratic elections in South Africa has been widely celebrated throughout the country. The government has used the occasion to congratulate itself on its performance in eradicating poverty, reducing inequality, and generally producing “a better life for all.” However, a report by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) presents a different picture to that painted by politicians and government spokesmen.

One of the most significant issues affecting working class South Africans is massive unemployment. Over the last nine years the rate of unemployment has steadily increased, with between 30 and 42 percent of the labour force caught in “a vicious cycle of open unemployment.” Between 5.2 million and 8.4 million South Africans are unemployed, depending upon whether one applies the official definition or an extended definition of unemployment.

South Africa also has one of the most unequal distribution of incomes in the world, with approximately 60 percent of the population earning less than R42,000 per annum (about US$7,000), whereas 2.2 percent of the population have an income exceeding R360,000 per annum (about US$50,000).


Source: World Socialist Web