The Big Debate S12E09 -Wealth and Inequality

For 150 years South Africa has built its wealth on mining. Trillions of dollars of gold, diamonds, platinum and coal have been extracted from beneath our soil. Directly or indirectly, all our billionaires owe their fortunes to this history. Our city skylines, our banks, our whole economy, built on the back of mining wealth. But what about the workers? And their families. How can it be after a century and a half of wealth creation AND 30 years of democracy, South Africa is still the most unequal country in the world. With more than half our population in poverty, and 1 in 4 children going hungry or stunted? Where has the wealth gone? AND why isn't more of it being reinvested in a better life for all? On today’s show, we look at 2 industries which generate both wealth AND poverty. That’s mining and finance. And we ask: How can we reverse 150 years of super-exploitation?