SA economy: Time to turn attention to rural-urban inequality

At the Investment Conference in November 2019, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa highlighted the importance of the township economy. He noted that “townships have always represented the heartbeat of a thriving economy, which grew against all odds. The time is upon us to re-ignite the township economy for the purpose of growing an inclusive economy”.

While townships are indeed a crucial part of the South African fabric, they are more nurtured than their rural counterparts, which have often fallen to an “out of sight, out of mind” mentality. Ultimately, to grow an inclusive economy, the often-overlooked rural areas must be the centrepiece of the development agenda. As it sits today, compared to many townships, the rural economy is more constrained by limited physical and financial infrastructure, which has constrained social and economic development and preserved the pervasive nature of inequality in South Africa…..more