Neva Makgetla

“The government's 10-year review argues that, in economic terms, household equality has greatly improved, especially as a results of government programmes. This conclusion has received considerable publicity, although it is not particularly important for the review's overall integrity and findings. It would be a great pity if the review's brief and not very sound note on income distribution overshadowed its deeper analysis and broader policy implications.”

“Rather than picking out particular bits of interesting information from the review - which is packed with fascinating data - it would make more sense to engage with its overall argument. The call for a sustainable, equitable development strategy should not be lost in debates over the data or efforts to highlight the good news while ignoring the bad.”

“If the 10-year review wanted to rely only on the 1997-2000 period, it should have explained the reported worsening in income distribution between 1995 and 1997. In any case, the 2000 figure still represents a high level of inequality by world standards. The World Bank's World Development Indicators for 2003 report only about five countries with equal or higher inequality, most of them in southern Africa (Swaziland and Namibia) and Latin America.”