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Dear National Welfare Forum members,
This is a summary of the key activities and tasks regarding the social security reform process that the National Welfare Forum has been part of along with Black Sash , South African Council of Churches (SACC) , Studies in Poverty & Inequality Institute (SPII) and more recently, Community Agency for Social Enquiry (CASE) . The representatives of each of these organisations make up the current informal national working group on social security reform.
The National Welfare Forum has consistently maintained that if social security is to be reformed, then it must be done in conjunction with a review and increase of properly resourced developmental social services. In the 2008 Annual Report, we said, “Our social security system is flawed but still a remarkable achievement for the continent and beyond… Yet we appear to be losing the battle on poverty and sections of our nation bemoan the dependence that our social security system creates. The answer is not in more social security alone but in more social security together with more investment in development of people. Investments in giving people hope that this period of unemployment, hunger and desperation will come to an end. It is an investment because it will yield powerful long-term returns and eventually reduce any of the assumed or perceived dependence on social security.”
The national working group have agreed to include this topic in the national conference planned for March this. The working group has further agreed to include a discussion document on the subject: Developmental Social Services, an Integral Element of Comprehensive Social Security. The development of the discussion document is being led by Claudia Serra and this serves as an appeal to you to kindly let us have your ideas & thoughts about what should be included in such a discussion document.
Return Dates & Contact Details
1.Developmental Social Services, an Integral Element of Comprehensive Social Security discussion document
1.1.Initial ideas for inclusion in the 1st Draft – 10 February 2008
1.2.1st Draft available for comment – 23 February 2008
1.3.Final comments due by – 12 March 2008
2.All other comments on social security reforms can be submitted anytime up to 12 March 2008.
3.All comments & ideas must be sent in writing to:
3.1.Email –
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3.2.Fax – 0114031879
4.If you need help with getting your ideas or comments down on paper, please speak to your Provincial Coordinator or Chairperson to assist you.
Draft Notes for paper development:
Principle: Developmental: Comprehensive social protection entitles recipients to a basket of psychosocial and economic benefits to enable the realisation of the spectrum of human dignity.
We maintain that if social security is to be reformed, then it must be done in conjunction with a review and increase of properly resourced developmental social services. The current focus of social security is on the cash component or the grant and reflects the transformative debates of redress for previously disadvantaged people in South Africa. To date, this focus has been necessary to ensure that there is at least a minimal monetary benefit to people who are unable to provide for themselves as stipulated in the Constitution. Thus the state has focussed on meeting its Constitutional obligations to the people and utilising the budget spend on cash grants as a red herring for the reduction in budget spend on developmental social services. The current social security system in South Africa is a remarkable achievement for the continent and beyond, yet it is flawed. As we now embark on the process of dialogue on reform of comprehensive social security in South Africa, it is imperative that we improve not only access to grants but also fundamentally shift our dialogue from the narrow confines of social security as cash grants to social security as a development tool to enable individuals to realise the potential of their right to dignity.
Human beings have psychosocial needs that go beyond the mere requirements of shelter and food. The breath and depth of the human experience encompasses the realm of hope, ambition and emotional security. The current system of dispensing cash grants as a form of social security does not specifically address the spectrum of human needs and as such fails to address the question of development of the human being as a whole.
We propose that each current (and future) category of social security grants be based on a system of understanding that the state must provide for more than the basic shelter and food needs of its people. An ideal system would consist of a basket of services such as, but not limited to:
- Free access to public health care
- Free access to state education for dependents, up to Grade 12
- Free lifetime access to adult education and re-training programmes
- Free access to public transport
- Free access to dedicated social services, including counselling, therapy and related services
The state may well argue that such access possibly already exists for most citizens, to which we would respond that while that may be true, the basket of services does not exist as a holistic option for grantees. The basket of services, of which the cash grant is one component, must be detailed and grantees must be made aware of the choices and entitlements that they have. It is not enough to suggest that such services exist; the onus is on the state to ensure that the services are adequately funded, staffed, monitored and evaluated on a regular basis. Furthermore, the state must also address the paucity of services in rural areas and ensure that educates its staff in the civil service on the entitlements of foreign nationals resident in South Africa. The state may further argue that the costs to implement such a basket of services are prohibitive and that the Constitutional right to social security is a limited right. Again, we would respond that the costs of not implementing such a system will be devastating on the continued growth, prosperity and peace of South Africa. We would further ague that to not implement such a system would be to deny the people of South Africa, the dream of liberation, for what is freedom without hope for a better life? – Rajesh Latchman, National Coordinator
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