CAPE TOWN, South Africa, June 29 (UPI) -- Former South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu says the gap between the country's rich and poor is widening.
Tutu said the growing economic chasm is endangering the democratic gains the country has made since 1994, the Financial Times reported Friday.
"Most (people) are languishing in the wilderness," said Tutu, referring to the sluggish pace of wealth redistribution since the end of apartheid 13 years ago.
Tutu, who won the Nobel Peace Prize in 1984, said most people who were poor during white rule in the country are still poor today.
"I'm really very surprised by the remarkable patience of people," he said. It was hard "to explain why they don't say to hell with Tutu, (Nelson) Mandela and the rest and go on the rampage."
Tutu said the black economic empowerment policy of the African National Congress -- the ruling political party in South Africa -- has succeeded only in enriching a select few rather than taking widespread action against poverty.
