ANC MP Ela Gandhi argues that the state’s social assistance schemes are discriminatory, and should be extended to all
Among the many pieces of apartheid legislation in our country there is one which has major implications for the Government of National Unity — the Social Assistance Bill and its regulations.
In terms of this Bill, grants and pensions are provided. The most radical form of social assistance programmes was introduced by the National Party soon after it came into power, but sadly it was extended only to the white community, and later to the Indian, coloured and African communities on a descending scale.
The NP implemented a comprehensive welfare policy for the white community, yet it extended a residual scheme for the black population and continued to advocate it. When one looks at the success of the welfare scheme for whites in the past, one begins to realise how socialist the NP really was.
The dilemma that the welfare movement faces now is that financial assistance schemes which provided for the Indian, coloured and white communities have not been extended to Africans. One such facility is the maintenance grant, which is a grant awarded to widows, disabled widowers, single parents, and to spouses and children of people who get an old age pension, disability grant or war veteran’s pension. It incorporates a grant for the parent and grants for each child to a maximum of four children.
This grant is presently being awarded to Indians, coloureds and whites and I believe a few Africans. The majority of Africans do not receive this grant. So the scheme is discriminatory both in terms of race and in terms of the number of children it is extended to.
The racial discrimination cannot be tolerated, but one can argue that the limit of four children is due to financial constraints and that the grant can be utilised by the family as a whole. The provisions do not impose any exclusion of children from benefits.
Some 500 000 people benefit from this facility at present. If it is extended to Africans, it will result in a sharp increase in the budget of the Welfare Department. Estimates range from R4-billion to R16- billion.
Are we ready to provide a safety net for our widows, orphans and destitute? Are we going to deprive the 500 000 who now depend on these grants by cancelling the grants they presently receive? Or are we going to continue to protect the “haves”?
If the latter , most of these families will be destitute. Having worked with thousands of families who are dependent on these grants, I know the struggle they have to survive. At the same time, there are those women who are presently struggling to survive on a pittance derived from agriculture, and other informal business, and do not have the privilege of any state assistance. They have no child care facilities. By cancelling grants we will only encourpoverty. The question is whether South Africa is prepared to accept this responsibility.
There are those who believe that these grants are being abused. From my own experience I can vouch that the proportion of people who abuse grants is very small. Yet there is a high rate of unemployment in South Africa.
These grants are paid to single parents with children and to parents who are disabled, old or in receipt of a war veteran’s pension. Criteria such as age of the parents, limitation on the number of children for whom the grant will be paid without depriving others from benefiting from the grant, providing the grant to people who are not living with a partner, and having a ceiling on income and property valuation, would limit the number of people that would qualify, and also deal with the issue of people who may exploit the welfare provisions. Others, of course, can benefit from unemployment benefits and other social security.
Alongside these security measures, there has to be a concerted effort to create subsidised child care facilities and employment opportunities which would encourage people to move away from social security and into the mainstream of the economy.
Let us devise a programme which offers a true safety net for our people and at the same time creates opportunities, services and development programmes which will be able to absorb the potential skills and energy of the people.