Fahamu (Oxford)
5 November 2009
Almost every developing country that has become rich since the Second World War has done so by lifting the majority of people out of poverty collectively and not the elite only. In fact, the developing countries that have been successful since the Second World War, particularly those from the East Asian developmental states, have done so by empowering the widest number of people - at the same ...
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I like the way South Africans are so passionalte about their cuntry and issues. What bothers me are the so called experts who use research done by international institutions who are trying to influence our policy direton. The article by Gumede about the widening gab between the rich and the poor is one such article. I am not sure where Mr Gumede lives. But what some of us see in our beautiful country is very different from the sorry state he is painting. Never in the history of South Africa has the number of houses for the poor being built at this fast rate. Never in the history of South Africa has pensions and grants been allocated to the poor as it is today. To name just a few. I think Mr Gumede should try to be objective. It is also true that there are still a lot of people who are poor in South Africa, the same as the rich countires that he is making reference to. I think it is important to be objective when dealing with issus of this nature. Mr Gumede and the others probably believe the nonsene that was aired by some of the international media that South Africa since 1994 has seen the increase in the number of squater camps. Please wake up and smell the roses.