by Lindy Abrahams

Created on: April 16, 2008

When it comes to poverty and inequality in South African many people have to realize that it has only been fourteen years since black South Africans where first allowed to vote. Generations have lived under the apartheid system for a long time. People have been brain washed into living a certain way and a sudden change in environmental circumstances doesn't necessarily mean a change in mental circumstances. Change takes more than a vote and more than a promise. There has been years of being subjected to an educational system that didn't prepare people into believing in better for themselves.

When you come into Cape Town International from the airport the shock hits you when you witness the rows and rows of shacks. It reminds you that poverty is still rife in the country. Fourteen years on and people are still living in shacks today. The shacks are not fit for anyone to live in, running water and some toilets still have to be shared. There is still evidence of segregation when only a few kilometers away you'll find a mansion so big it's swimming pool alone can fit two shacks in it.

Even though the government had expressed concern and promised to build houses for the people it hasn't properly delivered. Houses were built, but they were still built in an area that is set apart from the suburbs. The houses are still as small as the shacks only this time there is an indoor toilet, a sink and a tap. Improvement? Maybe but it still draws the social line of where some human beings can live.

Another problem is the lack of proper health care. With the rising rate of HIV, a lot of Africans are not getting the appropriate health care because they can't afford Medical Aid, that would allow them to attend a private hospital. Children are loosing their parents to HIV, leaving them to fend for themselves and therefore continuing the cycle of poverty.

The schools in the townships are not up to a standard that would offer a child a better education and a better chance in life. Good education can range from R10,000 - R20,000 per year. People on a minimum wage of about R12,000 a year will not be able to afford to send their children to good schools this keeping them trapped in the cycle of poverty.

The lack of education has contributed to the high rate of unemployment, there are more people than there are minimum wage jobs that cater for the uneducated. Even though there is a rise of a younger generation of people who are only just finishing university and can now live better lives. The inequality in the work force is still something South Africans have to overcome.

This leads to another problem that keeps many black South Africans in poverty, the inequality in job selection. You will find that you may have the right qualifications but not the right colour. It is the sad reality that still lingers. It's going to take more than a decade to wipe out what segregation did to the South African people. It's going to take a new generation of people who will rise up and bring about real change.

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