A stronger black middle class good news for us all

24 July 2013 - 02:31 By The Times Editorial
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The Times Editorial: A quiet revolution is taking place in our suburbs. In 2005, white buyers of homes in suburban areas represented about 57% of the total, while black languished at 23%, figures supplied by FNB's estate agents surveys show. According to Business Report, FNB's figures for the first two quarters of this year show that about 46.5% of home buyers in the suburbs were white, 32% were black, 12.5% Indian and 9% coloured.

The rise of the black middle class is nothing new - a plethora of research has shown that the buying power of black consumers has been steadily increasing and that race-based pay discrepanciesare narrowing.

But the estate agents' figures suggest that a sea change is taking place in suburbia - and that South Africa's ''emerging'' black middle class is starting to establish itself and acquire real wealth that will be passed on to future generations.

This can only be good for our long-term stability.

The fact that historically white suburbs are increasingly becoming integrated is also great news. Barriers have been coming down in the workplace for decades, now they are being tested where people live, too.

Of course, the rise of the black middle class is dependent on the overall performance of the economy.

There is plenty of anecdotal evidence to suggest that this indisputably beneficial process has taken a knock in the lean years since the 2008 credit crunch.

As we report elsewhere today, new evidence suggests that slowing economic growth and rising prices for petrol, food and electricity hit not only poor households last year but also relatively skilled individuals with steady jobs.

In order to mature into a stable democracy, South Africa desperately needs stronger economic growth, less red tape and a powerful black middle class.

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