ANC’s pro-poor rhetoric has not translated into economic policy
The government’s promises of ‘a better life for all’ have not come close to addressing the challenges of the political economy, writes Thabang Motsohi
I recently raised a serious concern about whether the ANC government has paid the required attention and effort to address the structural manifestations of the apartheid legacy in a systematic and vigorous way — beyond the usual public rhetoric about the evils of the system and the oft-repeated promise of a "better life for all’’ during their election campaigns. The inherited apartheid legacy included shocking levels of racialised structural poverty, income and wealth inequality, as well as unemployment. The outcome of that legacy are the high levels of anti-social behaviour and unacceptable levels of crime, especially in poor communities. With our Constitution and its subsequent laws we have successfully defined the type of society we wish to achieve. However, the biggest and most difficult challenge is at the level of the political economy. We must accept that levels of structural unemployment in SA underpin and drive increasing poverty and widening wealth inequality. The post-apa...
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