Summary

This book assesses how far South Africa has come in uprooting poverty since this pronouncement. It traces developments from the end of the apartheid economic system, that institutionalised and perpetuated poverty, and some of the highest levels of inequality in the world; to the new era, which grew out of this regime, and is characterised by black stratification, and an ever widening gap between rich and poor. The authors further consider how pressures from the global economy and domestic private sector are compounding a cruel dilemma for the State of how to manage the political costs of necessary economic reforms; but warn against failure to achieve poverty reduction required for genuine social transformation.