World Economic Forum 2018: Large numbers of Africans living near or below the poverty line

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As global business and government leaders gather in Davos a large percentage of Africans struggle with unemployment, wage disparity, and poverty. CGTNs Angelo Coppola has the story.

Economic growth rates in many African countries remain low, adding more pressure to people at risk. And the disparity between the poor and the rich hasn't narrowed. That's according to an Oxfam report released on Monday.

SIPHOKAZI MTHATHI EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, OXFAM SA "We've got to change the rules that govern how we run the global economy. That's really the essence. We need an approach to running the global economy that does not continue to produce this dynamic where the benefits of economic profit, ultimately accrue to the ones that are already privileged. "

Oxfam has come out with a range of recommendations for governments to implement.

THEMBINKOSI DLAMINI ECONOMIC JUSTICE HEAD, OXFAM SA "We have called, and continue to call, for the capping of corporate tax dodging, as a key intervention to ensure that we keep money that belongs to the continent, in the continent."

Taxation remains the preserve of the formal business sector continentally. But an area that varies from country to country is the informal sector, which is seen as a key economic growth generator, and governments can do more here to encourage growth.

DR. GILAD ISAACS RESEARCHER, WITS UNIVERSITY "Our (South Africa) informal sector is incredibly weak so those who are not employed in the formal sector, do not have means to access livelihoods, whereas in some other African and Sadec countries the informal sector is significantly higher."

The economic growth challenges are fairly universal but finding the right platform to meaningfully address these matters with developed country leaders, remains illusive. WEF is not the platform, oxfam says.

THEMBINKOSI DLAMINI ECONOMIC JUSTICE HEAD, OXFAM SA "We really do think that the group of super rich countries need to invest, to some extent to these regional economic communities, to develop their capacity to understand these issues such as tax dodging, base erosion and profit shifting, and also what mechanisms can be put in place to curtail the issues of profit shifting to tax havens."

ANGELO COPPOLA JOHANNESBURG, SOUTH AFRICA "Many African countries experience unemployment and wage disparity in a similar way, so finding a similar approach to deal with this issue is obviously a prime concern. I'm Angelo Coppola for CGTN in Johannesburg, South Africa."