Inequality: Implications on Governance and Development
Afesis-corplan held its third quarterly seminar on 17 September 2010 in East London. The aim of the seminar is to open a platform for strategic engagement on the implication of inequality to governance and development. It is targeted at stakeholders within the Eastern Cape Province and all institutions including civil society groups.
Professor Dudley Seers (1969; also 1979) views development in terms of the reduction in the severity of poverty, inequality and unemployment. Unfortunately, the three elements cited by Seers appear to have become more severe (not less) in the case of South Africa in spite of our experimentation with democracy since 1994.
While inter-racial inequality may have marginally declined, intra-racial inequality appears to be on the rise. The most recent red-flag was hoisted by the UN-Habitat in its survey of 109 countries in different regions of the world (www.unhabitat.org). Buffalo City (East London), Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni (East Rand) earned the dubious distinction of being ranked among the most unequal cities in the world (with Gini coefficients of 0.71 or more).
Ronald Eglin of Afesis-corplan set the tone for the seminar with his presentation, Equality: In Search of Diamonds. He illustrated the extent of inequality in Buffalo City, and indeed South Africa, by drawing attention to how the rich and poor live contrasting lifestyles. Interestingly, “in 2008 the average income of the richest 10% of households was nearly 40 times greater than the average income of the poorest 50%.”
All citizens are equally entitled to the rights, privileges and benefits of citizenship as stated in the Constitution, which includes the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedoms. Eglin pointed out that in more equal societies, compared to inequitable societies, people live longer, a smaller proportion of children die in infancy, children to better at school, a lower proportion of the population is imprisoned, communities are more cohesive, and people trust each other more.
Professor Fred Hendricks of Rhodes University presented a paper titled, Poverty and Inequality: What Role For Social Policy? His presentation highlighted “the possible role for social policy in eliminating poverty and reducing inequality. It highlights ... development thinking that seeks to shake social policy loose from its social work and remedial moorings and to anchor it instead to a central role in the development process.” Hendricks further intimated that social policy is “a defining feature of the development process itself, because of its impact on the extent of social differentiation, inequality and poverty.”
He stated that “policies are often not implemented as initially envisaged. There is a huge gulf between stated policy and the practice of implementation, between the initial intentions of policy and the manner in which these find expression in reality.” Also, “inequality is an obstacle to economic performance. ... If inequality is really so very bad for economic growth, then it should be reduced and social policy clearly has a central role to play in contributing towards equity.”
Hendricks shows that “the pursuit of social policies that enhance accumulation while securing the state the necessary legitimacy for political stability has constituted the cornerstone of developmental management. ... Those countries with strong social policies on education, health and equity tend to have higher rates of economic growth in the long run.”
Elroy Paulus of the Black Sash spoke on Inequality in South Africa: An Unsustainable Trajectory; Implications on Governance and Development. From mid-August to mid-September 2010, “there has been a plethora of government policies, reports and concomitant responses and activities by civil society that highlight the urgency of addressing the question [What needs to be done about inequality?] in the South African context.”
Paulus made reference to the launch of the Right2Know campaign, which has come about in response to the Protection of Information Bill before Parliament (31 August 2010). He indicated that it is “an important requirement for civil society/community organisations and the public in general to have unfettered and uncensored access to information about reports, programmes, policies and compliance of especially publically funded institutions as a key right to ensure that political commitments align with mandated requirements—in order to assess whether there has been an impact on poverty, inequality and public revenue generated from economic development.”
He also referred to the exclusion from appeal of unsuccessful social grants applicants, as tabled in the Social Assistance Amendment Bill 2010. “Increasingly we are seeing genuinely poor, vulnerable and destitute persons being turned away from government support, some who genuinely quality for such support, and others who are not provided for in the current legislation. ... Efficient and effective programme administration and, where necessary, administrative justice, as entrenched in law, are important components to ensure pro-poor development and socio-economic justice, and is an important factor to eradicate and reduce poverty and inequality.”
Paulus shared insights from three consultative provincial workshops held in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal where the Black Sash and its partners elicited public preferences in the health system reform, and compared these to the Ten Point Health Plan tabled in Parliament in early 2010. The findings have helped to identify “the urgent need to develop effective approaches for electing public opinions on health policies that have significant implications for South Africans, in order to feed public preferences into the policy development process at an early stage.”
To find out more about the seminar, view the presentations at www.afesis.org.za
Professor Dudley Seers (1969; also 1979) views development in terms of the reduction in the severity of poverty, inequality and unemployment. Unfortunately, the three elements cited by Seers appear to have become more severe (not less) in the case of South Africa in spite of our experimentation with democracy since 1994.
While inter-racial inequality may have marginally declined, intra-racial inequality appears to be on the rise. The most recent red-flag was hoisted by the UN-Habitat in its survey of 109 countries in different regions of the world (www.unhabitat.org). Buffalo City (East London), Johannesburg and Ekurhuleni (East Rand) earned the dubious distinction of being ranked among the most unequal cities in the world (with Gini coefficients of 0.71 or more).
Ronald Eglin of Afesis-corplan set the tone for the seminar with his presentation, Equality: In Search of Diamonds. He illustrated the extent of inequality in Buffalo City, and indeed South Africa, by drawing attention to how the rich and poor live contrasting lifestyles. Interestingly, “in 2008 the average income of the richest 10% of households was nearly 40 times greater than the average income of the poorest 50%.”
All citizens are equally entitled to the rights, privileges and benefits of citizenship as stated in the Constitution, which includes the full and equal enjoyment of all rights and freedoms. Eglin pointed out that in more equal societies, compared to inequitable societies, people live longer, a smaller proportion of children die in infancy, children to better at school, a lower proportion of the population is imprisoned, communities are more cohesive, and people trust each other more.
Professor Fred Hendricks of Rhodes University presented a paper titled, Poverty and Inequality: What Role For Social Policy? His presentation highlighted “the possible role for social policy in eliminating poverty and reducing inequality. It highlights ... development thinking that seeks to shake social policy loose from its social work and remedial moorings and to anchor it instead to a central role in the development process.” Hendricks further intimated that social policy is “a defining feature of the development process itself, because of its impact on the extent of social differentiation, inequality and poverty.”
He stated that “policies are often not implemented as initially envisaged. There is a huge gulf between stated policy and the practice of implementation, between the initial intentions of policy and the manner in which these find expression in reality.” Also, “inequality is an obstacle to economic performance. ... If inequality is really so very bad for economic growth, then it should be reduced and social policy clearly has a central role to play in contributing towards equity.”
Hendricks shows that “the pursuit of social policies that enhance accumulation while securing the state the necessary legitimacy for political stability has constituted the cornerstone of developmental management. ... Those countries with strong social policies on education, health and equity tend to have higher rates of economic growth in the long run.”
Elroy Paulus of the Black Sash spoke on Inequality in South Africa: An Unsustainable Trajectory; Implications on Governance and Development. From mid-August to mid-September 2010, “there has been a plethora of government policies, reports and concomitant responses and activities by civil society that highlight the urgency of addressing the question [What needs to be done about inequality?] in the South African context.”
Paulus made reference to the launch of the Right2Know campaign, which has come about in response to the Protection of Information Bill before Parliament (31 August 2010). He indicated that it is “an important requirement for civil society/community organisations and the public in general to have unfettered and uncensored access to information about reports, programmes, policies and compliance of especially publically funded institutions as a key right to ensure that political commitments align with mandated requirements—in order to assess whether there has been an impact on poverty, inequality and public revenue generated from economic development.”
He also referred to the exclusion from appeal of unsuccessful social grants applicants, as tabled in the Social Assistance Amendment Bill 2010. “Increasingly we are seeing genuinely poor, vulnerable and destitute persons being turned away from government support, some who genuinely quality for such support, and others who are not provided for in the current legislation. ... Efficient and effective programme administration and, where necessary, administrative justice, as entrenched in law, are important components to ensure pro-poor development and socio-economic justice, and is an important factor to eradicate and reduce poverty and inequality.”
Paulus shared insights from three consultative provincial workshops held in the Eastern Cape, Western Cape and KwaZulu Natal where the Black Sash and its partners elicited public preferences in the health system reform, and compared these to the Ten Point Health Plan tabled in Parliament in early 2010. The findings have helped to identify “the urgent need to develop effective approaches for electing public opinions on health policies that have significant implications for South Africans, in order to feed public preferences into the policy development process at an early stage.”
To find out more about the seminar, view the presentations at www.afesis.org.za