(Rand Daily Mail) – The Institute of Race Relations (IRR) on Monday said it believes in âcreating a policy environment in which any child born in SA might realistically aspire to reach middle class standard of livingâ.
IRR CEO Dr Frans CronjĂ© said in a statement that âa child might aspire to a middle-class standard of living should be seen as moral as well as a socialâ economicâ and political imperativeâ.
This follows the release of an IRR report last week warning that the âconsiderable growth in the black middle classâ would be curtailed by the âdepressed domestic economic environmentâ in the country. However, the report also noted that the black middle classâ while still smallâ âhas approached the size of the white middle classâ.
It âwarned that as the first-generation middle classâ the black middle class was very vulnerable to losing their status as a result of developments such as a sharp economic downturn or a period of rapidly rising interest ratesâ. The IRR said that âthe civil service could not be extended as a black middle class incubator â a role it has played quite successfully over the past 20 yearsââ and any significant future âexpansion would depend on SA securing an economic growth turnaroundâ.
CronjĂ© said the apartheid-era government denied middle class âaspirations to a majority of the country’s peopleâ. And while âThe post-1994 government has done better … too many areas of policy still undermine the educational outcomesâ entrepreneurshipâ and investment-driven growth that is so important to unlocking access to the middle classes.â