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The Inquiry: Why is South Africa Still So Unequal?

Why Is South Africa Still So Unequal?

12/05/2015

Why is South Africa Still So Unequal?

BBC World Service - The Inquiry, Why is South Africa Still So Unequal?

Investigating the root causes of South Africa’s world beating levels of inequality

Investigating the root causes of South Africa’s world beating levels of inequality, 21 years after Nelson Mandela pledged to end poverty and deprivation.

The violent riots on the streets of South Africa in recent weeks have seen foreigners killed, their shops looted and 5,000 left homeless. They are accused of taking jobs from locals in a country where high unemployment is a big concern - and an example of the gaping chasm that remains between rich and poor. So 21 years after Nelson Mandela pledged to liberate all South Africans from the continuing bondage of poverty and deprivation, why is South Africa one of the most unequal societies on the planet? 

(Photo: South African man waves a stick in the air, while demonstrators are chanting. Credit: Stefan Heunis/Getty Images)

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