Minister of Welfare and Population Development Geraldine Fraser-Moleketi responds to a recent M&G article
AS in other parts of the world, the issue of whether to provide social assistance to permanent residents has come to the fore in South Africa. The article entitled “No pensions for permanent residents” by Marion Edmunds (August 16 to 22) has highlighted one of the many aspects of the problem — namely, the implementation of the Social Assistance Act which came into effect on March 1.
The article focused on the fact that the Act seeks to restrict the access of permanent residents to government social assistance, and that the restriction would particularly affect migrant workers who have worked on a contract basis in the mines or industry.
Non-contributory state benefits in Africa and the majority of poor countries are virtually non- existent. On the other hand, South Africa has a fairly well-developed system (albeit with many problems). Research shows the South African system of benefits reaches its target: the poor. The type of public social benefits provided by the government are on a par with other middle-income countries. Even in the more advanced industrialised countries, access to social assistance by permanent residents is fairly restricted.
The problem of the lack of financial resources at the disposal of the government is complicated by the fact that most of the workforce is either unemployed or does not enjoy the same level of workplace insurance benefits as their counterparts in more advanced industrialised countries. Over the years many people have found a way to survive in the informal sector, where they are not able to make provision for a pension and become reliant on government support.
The problem of affordability and the principle that the country should provide for its citizens first have made it necessary for the government to restrict the access of permanent residents to social assistance programmes. Still, it is not a simple matter of wanting to halt the payment of these particular pensions across the board. Those permanent residents who received pensions before the Act was changed will still continue to do so, but no new applications from permanent residents will be accepted unless they apply for South African citizenship.
The situation of long-term migrant workers is acknowledged and special consideration could be given to this category. Migrant workers from neighbouring states make up the bulk of applicants for permanent residence. Yet as a result of the past apartheid policies, no black person was allowed by law to obtain permanent residence before 1986. This meant they could not qualify for social grants.
Recently, however, getting permanent resident status has been facilitated by the government. Precisely how many citizens from neighbouring states have acquired permanent resident status will have to be determined. Such detailed information would be essential to understand the financial implications of giving special consideration to this category.
What does emerge from this debate is the need for other stakeholders — trade unions and the corporate sector — to commit themselves to improving workplace insurance schemes for migrant workers.