Rising inequality of wealth can make Africa extremely poor by 2030: Report

By 2030, nearly 9 of every 10 people in extreme poverty will be living in Sub-Saharan Africa, World Economic Forum’s official website reveals citing World Bank PovcalNet and Poverty & Equity Data Portal’s survey report.

Is Africa really rising? Oxfam International arrives in Cape Town with new data that reflects the bitter side of it. It segregates the continent in three parts – ‘A divided Africa’, ‘An Africa for the ultra-rich’, and ‘An Africa racing to the bottom’.

‘A divided Africa’ reveals inequality is spiralling and the continent is now home to the planet’s four most unequal countries. ‘An Africa for the ultra-rich’ reveals where three African billionaires – all men – now hold more wealth than the poorest half of Africa, or 650 million people on our continent. The last part is ‘An Africa racing to the bottom’ reveals extreme poverty is again escalating in Africa despite having one of the fastest-growing economies on the planet.

A new report titled ‘A Tale of Two Continents’ published by Oxfam International reveals three African billionaires have more wealth in the current days than the poorest 50 percent or 650 million people across the continent. The report shows that there is a constant rise in the fortunes of richest Africans, extreme poverty, on the other side, is augmenting in the continent. The report of Oxfam International also clearly reflects how unsustainable levels of debt and a rigged international tax system are depriving African governments of billions of dollars in lost revenue each year - money that could otherwise be invested in education, healthcare and social protection.

Oxfam International continues claiming in its newly published report ‘A Tale of Two Continents’ that the continent is speedily becoming the epicentre of global extreme poverty. The number, which dropped in Asia, is rising in Africa, and if its increasing pace is not arrested, based on the World Bank’s estimation, the 87 percent of the planet’s extreme poor will be in Africa by 2030.

Does it mean Africa has no potential to rise? No, it has huge potential, and due to potential to turbocharge the socio-economic development of the entire continent, this topic will highly be discussed at the imminent World Economic Forum on Africa. The upcoming World Economic Forum on Africa is slated to take place in Cape Town in South Africa between September 4 and 6, 2019.

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