Much is said these days about expropriating land and nationalising industry & mining in SA, all of which is supposed to uplift the poor black people (usually at the expense of the white people). All these ideas never ever touch on the real problem, and the real reason why black people are unable to escape the viscious cycle of poverty, and why Government will never have enough money to make a meaningfull impact on poverty. All politicians are simply to afraid to even mention the real problem, which is not unique to Africa. It is also not connected to race in any way.
The main problem throughout Africa ( and a lot of other areas), is quite simply a population which is growing far faster the the ability of Government (or anyone else), to keep pace. The facts are that people who are poor, tend to breed well beyond their ability to provide properly for their children, the result is, poorly educated children, a high unemployment rate and a heavey burden on health, education and social security departments of Government. This might be an unpalatable fact to a lot of people, but it remains a fact. Once one accepts this fact, it is possible to look for solutions, you cannot fix anything until you acknowledge what really needs fixing.
Our previous President, did not set a very good example in this regard, but one must acknowledge that he has sufficient income (one way or another), to provide excellent care for all his children (rumoured to number around 26). Anyone who is serious about breaking the cycle of poverty in this country, should forget about nationalising, expropriation and all the other ways they think they can take from the 'haves' and giving to the 'have nots', all of these things were tried by Zimbabwe, which lead to famine. The simple fact is that a labourer cannot properly care for, or properly educate his chidren if he has more than 2 maximum, this of course doesn't take tertiary education into account. The facts in SA are that most impoverished families have an average of 5 chidren ( this is an uneducated guess).
A new approach is obviously needed, one that will encourage people to have smaller families. One solution is perhaps to reward women who undergo VOLUNTARY sterilistion. Every women between, perhaps, the ages of 18 to 35, should recieve a lump sum of (say) R20000.00 if they undergo voluntary sterilisation, and provided they do not already have more than 2 children. This will also provide them with capital to begin an enterprise of some sort. At the same time Government will save a huge amount of money in child support grants, that will no longer be needed (approx. R3360.00 per child per year). Such a system wil not deprive anyone of their rights, and should significantly reduce population growth, whilst possibly stimulating the economy, groups of women who recieve such lump sums could band together and start an enterprise of their own, which could make a significant difference in the local economy.
This idea may sound strange in SA where traditionally large families are regarded as desirable, but I would urge all those who would shoot this idea down, to first come up with a better idea. I personally have raised 2 chidren and managed to get both of them past matric, and with some education beyond that, I therefore know how difficult it is to raise chidren, and to give them the best chance in life.
Our unemployment problems will also be aleviated if there are fewer labour laws & restrictions on employment. The current collective bargaining system benefits the average worker at the expense of the good worker. Apprentice systems such as we have now should be also be suplemented with a more informal system, which does not place such heavy demands on employers.