BIG READ: Why we must teach our youth to care for ecological heritage
Raymond Kramer, the founder of Guardian Angel, wants to protect wild spaces for the sake of future generations
SA is extraordinarily beautiful, yet suffering a biodiversity loss crisis. It is beyond rich in mineral wealth, yet many citizens suffer abject poverty. Conspicuous consumption is everywhere, yet we are the most unequal society on earth. A land of paradoxes. Imagine yourself growing up in Alexandra; poverty epitomised with Sandton’s riches on your doorstep.
The country’s Gini index of 63 (100 is most unequal and 0 the least) places us among the most unequal on the planet. The economy grew at 0.6% in 2024, while the population grew at 1.5%. Unemployment, on a narrow definition — excluding those who gave up looking for work more than four weeks before the survey — remains stubbornly high at about 33%. This is hardly the vision that heroes such as Nelson Mandela fought for. After 30 years of democracy, citizens have rightly called for a system of government that delivers tangible benefits in addition to civil liberties. The indignity of being unable to find work or having to re...
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