It is clear that income inequality is an intractable problem in SA, but we can do something to alleviate the plight of the poor. The most obvious, which can be accomplished with minimum effort, is to reduce voice and data costs — the poor spend disproportionately more of their income on communications. Meaningful and efficiently managed incentives should be introduced to encourage investment to reduce unemployment. This must be done within a tight deadline, so no "bosberaads" are necessary. Make it a requirement for listed companies to disclose the total compensation paid to their average employee versus their executives, and name and shame those where the disparity is egregious. This will soon be a requirement in the UK. Of itself this won’t do much to alleviate the problem, but it will send a powerful message. The former finance minister said recently that R100bn is lost to corruption each year, which could have been used to bolster social grants. So with clean governance the plig...
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