The Executive Director of Oxfam International, Winnie Byanyima who is in Rwanda to attend the World Economic Forum on Africa has delivered a public lecture at University of Rwanda College of Business and Economics, during which she observed that income inequalities are continuing to widen, adversely affecting the advancement of humanity in Africa.
University students who attended the lecture appreciated the knowledge gained.
Oxfam recently released a report dubbed ‘The Time is now ,Building a human economy for Africa’ which reveals the level of misallocation of resources on the continent and the growing gap between rich and poor. Among other findings, the report reveals:
•The richest 10 people in Africa now have a combined wealth equivalent to the GDP of Kenya.
•The number of people living in poverty in Africa has increased by 50 million since 1990.
•Seven of the world’s most unequal countries are in Africa.
•Revenue lost to African governments from the use of tax havens by rich individuals would be enough to pay for healthcare to save the lives of four million children, and employ enough teachers to get every African child into school.
“This region has the greatest inequalities between poor and rich people.The same inequalities are seen in Latin America and are on rise. Africa has 6 countries among 10 World’s countries with extreme inequalities between rich and poor. The country with highest inequality is from Africa.That country is South Africa and inequality between poor and rich people is increasing,” she said.
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