SA must use its G20 presidency to show it is serious about ending inequality and narrowing the gap between the rich of Sandhurst and the poor of Alexandra.
The launch this week of the report by the UN Global Council on Inequality, AIDS and Pandemics couldn’t have been launched in a more appropriate country. South Africa is the most unequal country in the world and the G20 summit is being held in Johannesburg, the country’s economic hub and one of Africa’s key economic centres.
The 22-23 November summit’s theme is “Solidarity, Equality and Sustainability” and is in sync with the UN report, which shows that the rich get richer in times of pandemics, while the poor get poorer and more vulnerable.
The venue for the launch, the Gordon Institute of Business Science (Gibs) in the affluent Illovo, Sandton, is just across the highway from the sea of shacks, the poverty and suffering in Alexandra, one of South Africa’s oldest townships, and just a few streets away from the imposing Sandhurst mansion allegedly built from millions looted from Tembisa hospital by tenderpreneur Morgan Maumela.
The inequality in South Africa hits you in the face. Together with other Global South countries such as Brazil, a fellow Brics member country, and Peru, another South American country also battling the demon of inequality, South Africa must deal with inequality so that the country is prepared for future pandemics, ensuring all citizens have equal access to affordable healthcare.
The UN report shows pandemics mirror the reality of inequality in the world and shows that the gap between the rich and the poor shows who matters and who doesn’t in the face of pandemics such as Covid-19, Aids and Ebola. Women and girls, the LGBTQI community, immigrants and other vulnerable groups are at the coalface of these pandemics.
According to statistics, nearly 40% of the world’s young people will live in Africa by 2050. Therefore, the decisions made today must involve them and future-proof their lives.
With the G20 on African soil this year, South Africa can’t escape global attention and must show the world that it has a plan to tackle inequality, arrest rampant youth unemployment and provide world-class healthcare for all its citizens.
We are hopeful that by placing inequality at the heart of the G20 agenda, President Cyril Ramaphosa means business and must show concrete plans in driving inclusive growth and tackling the ticking time bomb of youth empowerment.
SA must use its G20 presidency to show it is serious about ending inequality and narrowing the gap between the rich of Sandhurst and the poor of Alexandra. The M1 highway cannot continue to be what separates the rich and the poor. As Sandton, Africa’s richest per square mile, prospers, so too should Alexandra. The G20 summit cannot be yet another talkshop.