South Africa is the world's most unequal country. 25 years of freedom has failed to bridge the divide

More than two decades have passed since South Africa overhauled a racist regime designed to keep the country's black population under the thumb of an elite white minority.

But while democracy has delivered freedom for all South Africans, not enough has changed for those living in the country's vast townships.

In fact, despite 25 years of democracy, South Africa remains the most economically unequal country in the world, according to the World Bank. If anything, the rainbow nation is even more divided now than it was in 1994.

In South Africa, the divide between rich and poor is visible from the sky. On the left is Bloubusrand in Johannesburg, a middle class area with larger houses and pools. On the right is Kya Sands informal settlement.

In many ways, the legacy of apartheid endures. Previously disadvantaged South Africans hold fewer assets, have fewer skills, earn lower wages, and are still more likely to be unemployed, a 2018 World Bank report on poverty and inequality in South Africa found.

And, at the other end of the spectrum, an elite, mainly white minority continues to thrive.

While the African National Congress (ANC) is expected to win again in Wednesday's national elections, it may be facing an increasingly disillusioned electorate.

The gap between rich and poor is wider in South Africa than in any other country where comparable data exist, the World Bank found.

Mthandazo Ndlovu, Oxfam South Africa's democracy and governance manager, say inequality has been exacerbated as a result of "systemic failures at a government level."

It's not just income inequality that is cause for concern, he adds, but also unequal access to opportunities and essential public services.

"One would have assumed that 25 years into democracy we would have had better access to land, better access to health care, we would not have children falling into pit latrines due to failures in the provision of ablution facilities," he said.

Read: Land was stolen under apartheid. It still hasn't been given back

This is not to say the government hasn't made significant strides in leveling the playing field, he added. Access to basic services such as electricity, water, education and health care has improved considerably since the ANC came into power, according to the World Bank report.

But a fraction of the population still enjoys the lion's share of the spoils while the rest struggle to make ends meet.

South Africa's richest households are almost 10 times wealthier than poor households, according to World Bank estimates.

"If you look at the number of people who sleep on an empty stomach, these numbers are quite shocking," adds Ndlovu.

Poverty levels are highest among the black population, followed by South Africa's "coloured" population -- the accepted term for mixed-race people in the country.

In South Africa, the white population makes up the majority of the elite — or top 5% — explained Murray Leibbrandt, economics professor at the University of Cape Town.

Read: South Africa's Suidlanders are prepping for a race war

Part of Leibbrandt's work has involved tracking the social progress of 30,000 South Africans from 2008 to 2017.

"The best signifier of a country that's really on its way isn't a society with no inequality," he said. "It's a society with declining inequality and a growing middle class."

By Leibbrandt's estimates, South Africa's middle class is small and sluggish, and comprises approximately one in five South Africans.

While the middle class has hardly grown since 2008, the black percentage of the middle class has increased from 47% to 64%, he says.

"The picture that we pick up in our statistics is that we haven't been successful in breathing transformation through the country. And it fractures the country."

Read: Can a new president halt South Africa's decline?

Levels of inequality in South Africa appear to be passed down from generation to generation.

"It's a very embedded phenomenon that doesn't change very quickly, because it's the result of the way the whole society coheres," Leibbrandt said.

The way forward, he suggested, starts with South Africans recognizing the situation as it is right now.

"The point is that this inequality and these livelihoods of people, that is their daily life. And so if we are going to try and flourish together ... then we do need to try and understand that.

Trump Advisers Accuse China of Reneging on Trade Commitments

WASHINGTON — President Trump’s top economic advisers on Monday accused China of reneging on previous commitments to resolve a monthslong trade war and said Mr. Trump was prepared to prolong the standoff to force more significant concessions from Beijing.

Mr. Trump, angry that China is retreating from its commitments just as the sides appeared to be nearing a deal and confident the American economy can handle a continuation of the trade war, will increase tariffs on $200 billion worth of Chinese goods on Friday morning, his top advisers said.

“We’re moving backwards instead of forwards, and in the president’s view that’s not acceptable,” his top trade adviser, Robert Lighthizer, told reporters on Monday. “Over the last week or so, we have seen an erosion in commitments by China.”

Mr. Trump’s last-minute escalation highlights his administration’s difficult political position as it tries to fend off criticism that he has not been sufficiently tough on China. The president is facing pressure to show that the pain of his trade war will be worth it for the companies, farmers and consumers caught in the middle. Mr. Trump’s decision to potentially upend an agreement that many expected to be finalized this week in Washington appears to be a political calculation that staying tough on China will be a better proposition in the 2020 campaign

Bunge laagiza Mdude wa Chadema atafutwe

SAKATA la kada wa Chama cha Demokrasia na Maendeleo (Chadema), Mdude Nyagawa limetua bungeni ambapo sasa, Bunge limetaka maelezo kujua alipo. Anaripoti Faki Sosi … (endelea).

Bunge limeiagiza serikali kufuatilia taarifa za kada huyo baada ya kutekwa na watu wasiojulikana na kisha kutoweka naye. Habari za kutekwa kwa Dude zimeendelea kusambaa katika mitandao ya kijamii zikihoji alipo Mdude.

Wito huo umetolewa leo tarehe 6 Mei 2019 bungeni jijini Dodoma na Mwenyekiti wa Bunge, Andrew Chenge baada ya Mbunge wa Iringa Mjini, Peter Msigwa kutoa hoja ya kuahirisha kikao kwa ajili ya kujadili sakata hilo.

Awali Chenge aliitaka serikali itoe maelezo ili wananchi wajue hali ilivyo, kwa kuwa suala hilo linahusu uhai wa binadamu.

Akifafanua kuhusu sakata hilo, Naibu Waziri wa Mambo ya Ndani ya Nchi, Mhandisi Hamad Masauni amesema, Jeshi la Polisi limeanza kufanya uchunguzi wa tukio la kupotea kwa Mdude tangu tarehe 5 Mei 2019.

Mhandisi Masauni amewataka Watanzania kutoa ushirikiano kwa vyombo vya dola utakaowezesha kupatikana kwa Mdude.

Mdude anadaiwa kutekwa na watu wasiojulikana tangu tarehe 4 Mei 2019, akiwa ofisini kwake Mbozi Mkoa wa Songwe

Kuagwa Mengi: Viongozi wa dini watoa ujumbe maalum

VIONGOZI mbalimbali wa dini nchini, wametoa ujumbe maalum wa amani, upendo na umoja wakati wa ibada ya kuagwa Dk.  Reginald Abraham Mengi katika viwanja vya Karimjee, jijini Dar es Salaam. Anaripoti Regina Mkonde … (endelea).

Wakizungumza katika ibada ya kuuaga mwili wa Marehemu Dk. Mengi leo tarehe 7 Mei 2019, viongozi hao wamehimiza serikali na wananchi kwa pamoja kuitunza amani.

Akizungumza katika ibada hiyo, Mchungaji wa KKKT Dayosisi ya Mashariki na Pwani Usharika wa Msasani, Mchungaji Kijalo amesema, maisha ya wanadamu yanapaswa kuleta furaha na amani katika maisha ya wengine.

“Dk. Mengi alikuwa hivyo, alitumia maisha yake kuleta furaha na amani kwa wengine kwa kutumia karama na mali zake kusaidia wengine. Hivyo ili kumuenzi inabidi tuishi maisha ya amani na upendo,” amesema Mchungaji Kijalo.

Aidha, Mchungaji Kijalo amewataka Watanzania kuishi maisha ya toba ili waweze kuwa karibu na Mungu.

“Inatakiwa tuombe toba tunapokosea. Tusameheane sisi kwa sisi na pale mwenzako anapokosea umsamehe usipofanya hivyo unajenga chuki na kisasi ambacho si kizuri athari zake ni kubwa,” amesema Mchungaji Kijali.

Sheikh Mkuu wa Mkoa wa Dar es Salaam, Alhadi  Mussa amesema, Marehemu Dk. Mengi alikuwa mpenda amani na mahusiano katika jamii, hivyo ili kumuenzi ni vyema Watanzania kufuata nyayo zake.

“Wamekufa watu lakini kamwe mema yao hayatakufa, lakini wako watu hai ambao ni sawa na wafu kwa kuwa hawana mema.

“Unapomzungumzia Dk. Mengi unamzungumzia mtu aliyemwema na bora katika jamii, alinufaisha wengikifikra hata kutumia fedha zake hakubagua mtu. Mema yake hayatasahaulika,” amesema Sheikh Mussa.

Baba Askofu Nelson Kisare amesema, kama Mungu angempa nafasi ya dakika moja Dk. Mengi kufufuka kwa ajili ya kutoa wosia, angehimiza Watanzania kuienzi amani.

Askofu Kisare amesema “Tunapotafakari maisha ya Mengi tunakumbuka aliyoyafanya Mungu ya kuumba nchi ya Tanzania na kuipa rasilimali nyingi kwa ajili ya wananchi, lakini aliweka changamoto na kwamba kazi ni kubadili changamoto hizo kuwa fursa na kubadili maisha ya watanzania.

“Enzi za uhai wake Dk. Mengi, alitatua changamoto zilizopo ili kuhakilisha kwamba, Watanzania wananufaika na rasilimali zao, na alifanikiwa kufanya hayo kwa kuwa kuna amani na upendo. Hivyo tifuate nyayo zake kwa kuienzi amani na kusaidia wenye uhitaji.”

Katibu Mkuu wa TEC, Father Kitima amesema, enzi za uhai wake Dk. Mengi hakuwa mbinafsi, alitumia karama na mali zake kuinua wengine sambamba na kukuza sekta binafsi kwa kuanzisha viwanda na kutoa ajira kwa Watanzania wengi. Hivyo ni busara walio hai kuuenzi na kuendeleza mchango wake.

“Kifo cha Mengi sisi kama Kanisa Katoliki kimetugusa kwa namna ya kipekee sababu alikuwa karibu na kanisa letu katika kuwatumikia Watanzania. Aliwatumikia watu wenye uhitaji maalumu, alisaidia walemavu,” amesema Father Kitima

Tamasha la Met Gala Marekani, mastaa waonyesha mavazi yao, Lupita Nyong’o aiwakilisha vyema Afrika mashariki

Tamasha la Met Gala, tukio lenye faida kwa Taasisi ya mavazi –Costume Institute at the Metropolitan Museum ya Art in New York, hutajwa kama moja ya tukio kubwa kabisha duniani la fasheni.

Linafahamika kwa orodha yake ya majina ya wageni maarufu wanaoalikwa , kushiriki ni gharama kubwa na zaidi ya yote nguo zinazovaliwa ni za ghali mno kulingana na mada ya mwaka.

Kwa mujibu wa BBC. Mwaka huu, mada hiyo ilikuwa ni Camp: Waraka kuhusu mitindo ya mavazi – inayoendana na onyesho lijalo katika katika Met, picha zilipigwa kwa kuzingatia inshailiyoandikwa na mpigapicha Susan Sontag mwaka 1964 iliyofahamika kama – Notes on Camp.

Hivyo basi Mavazi ya mwaka huu , sawa na onyesho yatazingatia “iujasiri, uchekeshaji , mtindo wa uandishi wenye vichekesh vya vibonzo , sanaa ya mtu mwenye kuigiza utunzi wa mwtu mwingine , kitu ambacho si halisi, maigizo na kuonyesha mambo kwa mtindo wa kupita kiasi “.

Na kumuonyesha kila mshiriki jinsi mambo yanavyopaswa kufanyika mwanzo kabisa alikuwa ni muimbaji Lady Gaga, aliyewasili akiwa ametinga gauni la rangi ya waridi linalopeperuka haikuonekana hivyo alipoingia.

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Image captionLady Gaga, mmoja wa washereheshaji wa tukio ,akiwasili akiwa ametinga gauni lake la rangi ya waridi linalopepea

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Image captionAmbalo lilifungua kufichuliwa kwa gauni jeusi, vazi lake la pili …

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Image captionAmbalo pia lilifuatiwa na vazi la tatu la waridi iliyokolea lililoubana mwili wake

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Image caption…Ambayo aliitoa kuonyesha vazi lake la mwisho

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Image captionSerena Williams, ambaye alikuwa mshereheshaji mwenza, aliwasili katika vazi hili la rangi ya manjano lenye maua lililoshabihiana na raba zamazowezi za Nike

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Image captionNi kwanini uvae kofia moja, unaweza kuvaa nne kama Janelle Monae

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Image captionMchezaji Filamu wa Kenya Lupita Nyong’o akitabasamu mbele ya kamera

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Image captionMchezaji filamu Michael Urie aliamua kuwa na mionekano miwili kwa wakati mmoja

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Image captionWakati huo huo muigizaji filamu Ezra Miller, alionyesha sanaa ya vipodozi ya aina yake iliyowashangaza wengi

Kenya: Jaji wa mahakama ya juu zaidi kuchunguzwa

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Image captionKaty Perry, nae aliamua kuvaa mishumaa

• Jinsi fasheni ilivyomuajiri msomi huyu

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Image captionFamilia inayoonyesha maisha yake halisi kwenye TV ya Kardashiansiliingia kwa kishindo kwenye tamasha la mwaka huu

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Image captionHawa ni wanandoa wapyaPriyanka Chopra na Nick Jonas, ambao wanasemekana kuwa mara ya kwanza walikutana kwenye tukio kama hili la Met Gala mnamo 2017

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Image captionWalifuatiwa kwenye zullia jekundu na kaka mkubwa wa Nick Joe na mkewe mpya, ambaye ni nyota wa filamu ya Game of Thrones Sophie Turner

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Image captionMchezji filamu nyota katika Bollywood Deepika Padukone ”alitokelezea” na gauni hili la mtindo wa Barbie la rangi ya waridi

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Image captionLaverne Cox aliingia ukumbini na gauni jeusi la hariri na vipodozi vilivyokolezwa

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Image captionMshereheshaji wa tatu ni Harry Styles, ambaye alivalia vazi hili jeusi lenye suruari inayopandishwa juu

• China kupiga marufuku harusi za kifahari

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Image captionAlessandro Michele, jumba la fasheni la Gucci alitinga namna hii

Image captionMuimbaji Billy Porter aliingia na kufungua mabawa yake mbele ya umati uliohudhuria tamasha

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Image captionmmilikiwa wa ukumbi wa maigizo Jordan Roth alijigeuza ghafla kuwa jumba la maigizo

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Image captionCeline Dion, ambaye tunaweza kusema ni malkia halisi wa ‘camp’, hakuwakatisha tamaa waliomuona kwa vazi hili

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Image captionMchezaji filamu Jared Leto wazi alidhihirisha kuwa vichwa viwili ni bora kuliko kimoja

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Image captionHuku mchezaji filamu Yara Shahidi akitoka na vazi hili la manyoya…

Tetesi za soka za usajili barani Ulaya Jumanne hii, Pogba anukia Madrid, Man City yamsaka mrithi wa Fernandinho, Ajax yaanza kunyemewa,Dybala, Lo Celso, Bale, Trippier, Martial sokoni

Kiungo wa kati wa Man United Paul Pogba, 26, anafikiria kuhamia Real Madrid mwisho wa msimu , lakini matumaini yake ya kuhamia klabu hiyo yatategemea Man United kupunguza thamani yake ya £160m. (Telegraph). Pogba atalazimisha kuondoka hata iwapo Man United itakataa kumuuza. (ESPN)

Manchester City inakaribia kuingia makubaliano na kiungo wa kati wa Sporting Lisbon Bruno Fernandes, huku klabu hizo zikijadiliana kuhusu dau la kati ya £50m na £60m kwa mchezaji huyo wa Portugal mwenye umri wa miaka 24. (Sky Sports).

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Beki wa Ajax Matthijs de Ligt, 19, amekataa uhamisho wa kuelekea Manchester United wenye thamani ya £60m. (Star)

Mkufunzi wa Liverpool Jurgen Klopp amejiunga katika mbio za kumsajili kiungo wa kati wa Brazil na Ajax David Neres kwa dau la £35m . (Sun)

Manchester United iko tayari kuanza uhamisho wa wachezaji inaowalenga ili kuimarisha kikosi hicho na tayari imewasiliana na Juventus kuhusu kumsaini mshambuliaji wa Argentina Paulo Dybala kwa dau la £85m(Calciomercato, via Mail)

Tottenham na Everton wanamuwania mshambuliaji wa Real Betis Giovani Lo Celso, 23. (Sun)

Mshambuliaji wa Wales Gareth Bale, 29, ameambiwa kwamba hatakikani katika klabu ya Real Madrid katika mkutano wa ana kwa ana na mkufunzi Zinedine Zidane, lakini bado anataka kusalia katika klabu hiyo . (Mail)

Mkufunzi wa Napoli na aliyekuwa mkufunzi wa zamani wa Chelsea Carlo Ancelotti ametoa ishara za kutaka kumsajili winga wa Mexico Hirving Lozano, 23, ambaye amehusishwa na uhamisho wa Manchester United. (Calciomercato)

Ancelotti amekataa kupiga madai ya kutaka kumsajili beki wa Tottenham Kieran Trippier, 28, baada ya mke wa mchezaji huyo wa Uingereza kuonekana akitafutia shule watoto wake mjini Napoli.. (Talksport)

Winga wa Ufaransa Anthony Martial, 23, anakabiliwa na changamoto ya kumshawishi mkufunzi Ole Gunnar Solskjaer kwamba ana kandarasi ya muda mrefu katika klabu hiyo.. (Mail)

Solskjaer atasikiliza kuhusu ofa za Martial zitakazowasilishwa kutokana na tabia yake mbaya wakati wa mazoezi.. (Sun)

Maajenti wa Martial wameandika katika mtandao wa instagram ili kutetea rekodi ya mshambuliaji huyo wa Man United huku kukiwa na ukosoaji kuhusu kiwango cha mchezo wa uwanjani Old Trafford.(Manchester Evening News)

Mkufunzi wa zamani wa Arsenal Arsene Wenger, 69, amekataa ofa nyegine ya pili kuifunza klabu ya Fulham, baada ya kukataa kwa mara ya kwanza mnamo mwezi Novemba kabla ya kumuajiri Claudio Ranieri.. (Mail)

Mkufunzi wa zamani wa Chelsea Antonio Conte anasema kuwa kuna asilimia 60 kwamba huenda akarudi kufunza katika ligi ya Serie A msimu ujao.. (Le Iene – in Italian)

Newcastle United imekuwa ikimchunguza kiungo wa kati wa Uingereza na Coventry Tom Bayliss, 20, kabla ya kumsajili mwisho wa msimu huu . (Chronicle)

Kipa wa Poland Marcin Bulka, 19, anatarajiwa kuondoka Chelsea mwisho wa msimu huu na atatia saini kandarasi ya mapema na Paris Saint-Germain. (Goal.com)

Beki wa zamani wa Uingereza Gary Cahill, 33, ambaye anaondoka Chelsea mwisho wa msimu huu , anasema hajaridhika na soka ya kiwango cha juu na anasisitiza anaweza kuendelea kucheza