Unequal South Africa seeks to tackle inequality as its G20 'legacy'

FROM the scrappy metal shacks packed tightly on the banks of the thin Jukskei River, the sparkly skyline of Johannesburg’s richest neighbourhood less than two miles away is another world.

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Bags of refuse for sale to recycling companies line a muddy path to a vegetable garden tended by residents of the informal settlement at the foot of the high-rises of Sandton, South Africa's economic hub.

A light powered by a makeshift electrical connection shone at the doorway of the rusted shack where Bryan lives with his wife and nine-year-old son.

“Here in Sandton, there are a lot of people and companies that have money,’ said the 34-year-old security guard, who would only give his first name for fear of losing his job.

But, “we don’t have access’, he said with a shrug, a cigarette in his hand.

The backdrop of skyscrapers and shiny office towers was a stark reminder of the gulf separating rich and poor in South Africa, which the World Bank ranks as the most unequal country on the planet.

Before the leaders from the Group of 20 of the world’s most powerful economies convened in Johannesburg recently, President Cyril Ramaphosa made the fight against inequality a priority for the summit and pushed for it to be a “legacy” of the first African-hosted G20.