The Africa Progress Panel study, quoted in Sandton yesterday, 19 November 2013, by University of Pretoria professor Lorenzo Fioramonti, showed that the wealthiest 10% of South Africans consumed 51% of goods made in the country.
The poorest 10% of South Africa's people consume a mere 1.1% of goods produced. This means the other 80% of the country's residents consume 47.9% of the products.
"The figures show that the rich tend to become richer, and they are over-consuming in the process," said Fioramonti, speaking during the Institute of Internal Auditors' release of its first corporate governance and risk management index report.
He said South Africa needed to gradually transform the economy to favour small businesses.
Fioramonti called for radical changes over the next 20 years that would not benefit big businesses.
His proposed measures included the scrapping of subsidies, which he said were giving big companies an unfair competitive advantage over small businesses.
The subsidies Fioramonti referred to included the proposed youth employment incentive scheme, subsidies in the agricultural sector and the motor vehicle subsidy scheme. He said indirect subsidies included giving people incentives to buy more.
"People should be taxed more if they buy more and not receive discounts," he said, adding that scrapping subsidies would encourage companies to localise and price their goods fairly.
Fioramonti added that, despite people earning more, their spending power had shrunk over the past 10 years.
"This is a global phenomenon," he said.
"People earn more but they also have to spend more due to the high cost of goods and services.
"People have more money but they are still as poor as before," he said.
Source: Sowetan
For more than two decades, I-Net Bridge has been one of South Africa’s preferred electronic providers of innovative solutions, data of the highest calibre, reliable platforms and excellent supporting systems. Our products include workstations, web applications and data feeds packaged with in-depth news and powerful analytical tools empowering clients to make meaningful decisions.
We pride ourselves on our wide variety of in-house skills, encompassing multiple platforms and applications. These skills enable us to not only function as a first class facility, but also design, implement and support all our client needs at a level that confirms I-Net Bridge a leader in its field.
Go to: http://www.inet.co.za
