Learn from successful nations and implement winning policies

THE article “SA’s growing hunger crisis” on May 25 refers.

It’s true to say that South Africa has the highest Gini coefficient in the world. Unfortunately none of the legislation, including the national minimum wage has changed this situation. The rich get richer and the poor get poorer.

It’s known that relevant education is the only thing that will lift the workers out of poverty. This doesn’t just stop at schooling and tertiary institutions, but is also on-the-job training.

We need to rethink the handbrake that the government is trying to put on bringing in foreign scarce skills.

My experience has been that with every foreigner brought in to perform a specific job, that foreigner enables the business to employ three or four others, and also imparts his or her skills to the local labour force.

We also have a fine example in Germany where school pupils are exposed to trades at an early age, side-by-side with their schooling. Today, Germany has one of the world’s lowest unemployment rates and the finest artisans. MICHAEL BAGRAIM | Cape Town