Cape Town – The gap between rich and poor would be dramatically reduced if the world’s richest and biggest corporations paid their fair share of taxes.
Yesterday Oxfam, a non-profit group of independent charity organisations focusing on the alleviation of global poverty, released its inequality report and said poverty was not improving in sub-Saharan Africa.
“The number of billionaires has doubled since the financial crisis and their fortunes grow by $2.5billion a day, yet the super-rich and corporations are paying lower rates of tax than they have in decades,” said the report.
Apparently the rate at which extreme poverty is reducing has halved, and it is increasing in sub-Saharan Africa.
The report said those who paid the ultimate price of poverty were women and children, who suffer without education and proper health care.
It cited last year’s World Bank report, which found that South Africa is the most unequal country in the world. The report found the top 1% of South Africans own 70% of the country’s wealth, while the bottom 60% only control 7% of the country’s assets.
Oxfam South Africa spokesperson, Jabulile Buthelezi, said the extreme gap between rich and poor is undermining the fight against poverty, damaging our economies and fuelling public anger across the globe.
“One of the biggest contributors to inequality is wage inequality in South Africa. This means that the gap in earnings between those at the top and those at the bottom is extremely high.
“There are many reasons for this. But one of the reasons the report tackles is the inequalities in opportunities because a vast majority of the population does not have access to quality public services.
"Governments are fuelling inequality by under-taxing the wealthy individuals and big corporations in order to fund these vital services.”
She said the report was important as it highlighted the plight of millions (of people) living in poverty, and showcased the difference between the haves and the have-nots.
“People are dying because we do not have enough doctors, medicines and nurses servicing the public healthcare system, which is underfunded. Poor women and children are hit the hardest; women spend hours caring for children, the sick and the elderly when public services fail.”
In its recommendations, Oxfam said all governments should set time-bound targets and action plans to reduce inequality as part of their commitments under the Sustainable Development Goal on inequality. The plans should include free health care, education and other public services.
“The lesson is clear: to beat poverty we must fight inequality. The human cost of inequality is devastating.
“Governments face a choice: a life of dignity for all or extreme wealth for a few,” said the report.