The Minister of Social Development, Lindiwe Zulu has urged non-governmental organisations and the business community to join forces with the government in the fight against the high level of inequality and social problems faced by the country.
Zulu was speaking during a business breakfast that was organised by the department and local non-profit organisation, Afrika Tikkun held at the Houghton Hotel.
Afrika Tikkun is a non-profit organisation that was founded in 1994 with the goal of making a difference in South Africa by developing and uplifting young people in underprivileged communities.
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Zulu said a recent report revealed that South Africa was among countries with a high level of inequality in the world with a large chunk of the population depending on social grants for a living. Hence, the country needed organisations such as Afrika Tikkun to arrest this challenge faced by the country.
“A Statistics South Africa report on inequality has revealed that South Africa is the most unequal country in the world,” said Zulu. “In order for us to overcome this, we need government departments and institutions, non-profit organisations and the business community to pull towards the same direction. We need to make sure that the future South Africa that we want, must not be somebody that will grow up and wait for a Sassa [South African Social Security Agency] grant.
“We must also discourage the burning of government infrastructure when people are angry about certain things and teach the young ones to be responsible citizens as Afrika Tikkun does. If we all work together, we will realise the dream of South Africa we want to see.”
CEO at Afrika Tikkun Marc Lubner echoed Zulu’s call to the business community to come to the party and lend a helping hand.
“Only through strategic investment in building South Africans we want, can we make considerable progress towards the SDGs [Sustainable Development Goals] and build the South Africa we want. Join us in aligning our efforts to maximise our shared objectives through investing and equipping our youth to be economically and socially empowered,” Lubner said.
Related Article:
https://northeasterntribune.co.za/260008/importance-business-continuity-coronavirus-shutdown/
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