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Cosatu general secretary Zwelinzima Vavi. Picture: Antoine de Ras.
SA has become the most unequal society in the world, according to Zwelinzima Vavi, general secretary of the Congress of SA Trade Unions (Cosatu).
He was speaking on Wednesday at the unveiling of the Umzinto Wall of Remembrance in KwaZulu-Natal.
Proof of the country's problems was Tuesday's announcement that unemployment was still rising, Vavi added.
“It rose one percentage point - that means 31,000 more people without jobs - in the first quarter of 2011.”
“This brings the official unemployment level to 25%, with the expanded definition that includes the growing number of workers who have given up looking for employment to 35.5%.”
Vavi stressed that apartheid had irreparably destroyed many of the traditional African customs that regulated social life in the community.
“A graphic illustration of the problem was the recent report that nine million South African children are living without their fathers, who are still living but taking no responsibility for their offspring.”
The proportion of fathers who were absent and living increased between 1996 and 2009 from 42% to 48%.
Over the same period, the proportion of fathers who were present decreased from 49% to 36%.
“The old tradition under which fathers were obliged to pay compensation to the mothers of their children has virtually disappeared,” Vavi said.
This was linked to the rise in the number of teenage pregnancies, “in some cases a result of teachers impregnating their learners”.
He said: “The prevalence of rape, from two-year-old babies to old women is further evidence of moral decay.”
SA had a “massive crisis” on its hands, Vavi said.
“In the short term we must come together and commit ourselves to the eradication of crime, corruption, immorality and irresponsibility.”
In the longer term it was becoming more and more urgent, “if we are to prevent a full-blown social and political crisis”, to restructure the economy to one that created jobs, gave people a living wage and made society more equal and just, and created an environment in which family and community life could thrive and prosper, he concluded. - I-Net Bridge
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ET1, wrote
Blame - whether just or unjust - isn't going to get us where we need to be. Politicians use this card pretty often to shift the blame on history from their own inadequacies. Granted, history does play a role, but in order to move into the future, Africa needs to start picking itself up and work instead of talk. Blame doesn’t put food on the table, actions do.
Anonymous, wrote
I'm all for a better future, but why not consider more sensible ideas. How about changing the grants system to give x amount per mother? That way we take care of the population problem, the nanny-state problem, and others in one go.
Barry, wrote
The great black hope, Obama, recently said to African leaders it is time to stop blaming colonialism and "Western oppression" for the continent's manifold problems." - come now Vavi, time to take responsibility for your own (in)actions!
Barry, wrote
The great black hope, Obama, recently said to African leaders it is time to stop blaming colonialism and "Western oppression" for the continent's manifold problems." - come now Vavi, time to take responsibility for your own (in)actions!
Greg Beyer, wrote
@Catherine Rutledge: "the black mans culture of not respecting the family unit" is an offensive an inappropriate comment for a public forum.
Catherine Rutledge, wrote
While the legacy of colonialism is an explanation for Africa’s dire situation, fifty years after colonialism these negative effects in Africa should be fading away, instead of persisting or growing. An overall commitment to good governance and state well-being is fundamentally lacking in many African states...including South Africa. Fifty years Vavi, and they still get it wrong because of their greedy leaders and the black mans culture of not respecting the family unit...nothing to do with apartheid.
Catherine Rutledge, wrote
We all agree to your observations, but how do we stop the "hierarchy" from grabbing all the money and enriching themselves and having endless meetings that go nowhere. It is time for action not rhetoric.Seventeen years is a long time to walk backwards.Even the lotto money is being abused. Don't blame the past forever...walk forward for the next 17 years and know where you are going.Even if all the whites left South Africa (which most that could afford it have done)you will still be blaming them for the next 17 years. How long does it take you to change?Have you looked at the rest of Africa and how under developed it is ...and guess what Vavi...no apartheid. Strange isn't it? They don't have apartheid to blame and they are worse off than we are. Get real ..wake up and smell the roses.
Catherine Rutledge, wrote
We all agree to your observations, but how do we stop the "hierarchy" from grabbing all the money and enriching themselves and having endless meetings that go nowhere. It is time for action not rhetoric.Seventeen years is a long time to walk backwards.Even the lotto money is being abused. Don't blame the past forever...walk forward for the next 17 years and know where you are going.Even if all the whites left South Africa (which most that could afford it have done)you will still be blaming them for the next 17 years. How long does it take you to change?
Anon E Mouse, wrote
It's true that the tribal family structure was disrupted. Instead of the men sitting in the sun outside the hut, drinking beer and discussing important matters with the wives doing the work and the boys tending livestock, the men went to work on the mines. Families were left in the rural areas and were not allowed to follow the men to town. Prostitutes in towns did a roaring trade. Now we have an influx of rural folk to the towns and no accommodation or jobs. It is, however, time to look forward. Blaming the past is what keeps the ANC alive.
Ringmaster, wrote
C Mariaan, wrote
Tom, Weary, the problem relates directly to apartheid. You should brush up on your history. Millions of men had to leave their villages to work in the Witwatersrand mines, leaving behind whole villages with only women and children. Before that, family units were strong. Sons growing up without fathers is not a good thing in any culture and has future social repercussions of its own, and here it happened on a massive scale. Perhaps you should guard against the knee-jerk thing. Apartheid actually is to blame for quite a few evils that we face today.
pathetic, wrote
Never heard such stupidity come from the mouth of a 10 year old. Grow up. ANC is just an organised corruption machine
Wiseman, wrote
Emergency. Chasing our tail. THE MOST important solution is the acknowledgment that we are too many people. We need a department of population management. And the governing party must prioritise this above ALL else. Yes education, family planning and health care etc, must form part of the equation, but our overpopulation must be a public policy emergency, and be seen as such by all citizens. We need to change our culture to survive. If people cannot see this, then it is the duty of the government to make them see it. Viva the future. God help us to help ourselves!
jabu shabala, wrote
Me think Vavi is very clever...he wear glasses! He not made no jobs...he like to make babies...just like me. I can imagine how rich whites are if they don't have to carry us blacks. They should all move to USA ! In USA blacks are poor too..and no apartheid...I can't guess why.
Skipper, wrote
The question I ask is " sixteen years on - what exactly has the ANC done to improve the economy and thereby the rate of employment"? Empty promises of better things to come have not and will not get the real job done!
Ewok, wrote
It is apartheid's fault. Think about how many, many people had to leave their families to go to towns to work for whites - both men and women. Shame on the whites for doing this.
anonymous, wrote
Dont know what criteria Vavi uses but having travelled extensively in Africa (Malawi, Mozambique, Ghana, Uganda, Zimbabwe Zambia) our levels of poverty are not nearly comparable to these countries - hence the strong desire for immigration into South Africa.
Anonymous, wrote
Yet again it is apartheid to blame after all look at the rest of Africa, no development after many many years. The ANC should not be looking for an escape goat for their inability to run a country.
Anonymous, wrote
Its really sad. But our government is exercebating the problem by giving social grants that are deliberately falling pregnant.
Anonymous, wrote
Its really sad. But our government is exercebating the problem by giving social grants that are deliberately falling pregnant.
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