A new committee of inquiry has been tasked with meeting the needs of the poorest of the poor
Glenda Daniels An integrated and comprehensive social security system, to include the government’s current R18-billion social assistance programme, is on the cards now that a committee of inquiry has begun its work. The draft plan has to be completed by an 18- person committee and handed to the Cabinet before the end of this year. Members of the committee include experts from the economics, social sciences and legal fields and key government representatives from labour, finance, health, welfare and transport. Among them are economist Professor Pieter Le Roux of the University of the Western Cape, economist Dr Charles Meth of the University of Natal, Professor Guy Mhone of Wits Business School and Fezile Makiwane, chief director of social security in the Department of Welfare and Population Development.
Given the effect of globalisation, it is unlikely that job-creation strategies will thoroughly address the lack of income within households, especially in the rural areas where there is widespread poverty in its starkest form. For this reason a comprehensive social security system is an imperative, says committee chair Professor Vivienne Taylor, who is also special advisor to Minister of Welfare and Population Development Zola Skweyiya.
Taylor says: “This is the first time in the history of South Africa that a comprehensive system linking private and state-funded schemes is being worked on to provide a social safety net for South Africa’s poorest and most vulnerable. It is comprehensive because it includes health, welfare [social old-age pensions, disability grants, child- support grants], retirement provision and other forms of social protection. The importance of this committee’s work is that it takes place in the context of globalisation, with increasing job losses, jobless growth – where this has occurred – and the devastating effect of HIV/Aids and deepening poverty affecting the most marginalised sectors of the communities such as women, children and the elderly.”
With about 11-million people living in absolute poverty, South Africa has to come up with a social safety net that protects households, families and children who are without a means of survival. For this reason an investigation into a basic income grant for the poorest households becomes significant. The committee is prioritising work on this aspect, Taylor says. The committee aims to review areas such as the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF), old- age protection, retirement provision, disability grants and health-care funding and provision, as well as look into the feasibility of the R100 basic income grant to all unemployed people. The idea of a grant to the unemployed was first mooted by the Congress of South African Trade Unions. In addition, the committee will come up with a framework of social security that is geared to South African needs and conditions. It will also make proposals on how to define temporary and permanent disability.
There are huge gaps and blockages in the present social security system. A significant number of families are without any income. There is no assistance from the state for children older than seven years who are in need, says Taylor. “The impact of HIV/Aids on poor households is severe, as poverty exacerbates the disease. We have to look at comprehensive proposals to address this.” Some of the findings from a department of welfare task team identified the following inadequacies in the social security system: l The UIF covers less than 40% of the labour force at any given time, and offers benefits to less than 6% of the unemployed. l The private old-age pension system provides benefits within insufficiently reliable replacement rates, vesting and portability problems. l Many people remain financially vulnerable in respect of many areas of basic health care.
l No child benefits are available for children older than seven years and under school-leaving age. l Large numbers of South Africans remain vulnerable to harsh poverty with little means of escape. “It is also important to review to what extent workers have a say in where their contributions such as pensions and provident funds go. In terms of old-age provision, the system is bogged down with administrative difficulties. We have heard complaints of how elderly people’s rights are violated when they wait in queues to apply for social pensions and when they receive their grants. We have to address this situation urgently. We must come up with simple, effective and easy-to-manage and monitor arrangements that are responsive to people,” Taylor says. The committee is inviting interested parties and members of the public to make written submissions on the topics included in its terms of reference. After this the committee will hold a number of public hearings on the issue of social security to obtain oral comment from the public. These will take place in Pretoria, Durban and East London from October to November.