key: cord-0060812-es7g0ct0
authors: Noyoo, Ndangwa
title: Social Policy, Social Welfare, Social Security, and Legislation in Promoting Healthy Human Relationships in Post-Apartheid South Africa
date: 2020-06-02
journal: Promoting Healthy Human Relationships in Post-Apartheid South Africa
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-030-50139-6_12
sha: 430d77b9152a0b83abbeb6c36a7112a990768aa4
doc_id: 60812
cord_uid: es7g0ct0

Since the advent of democracy in 1994, the South African government, while working in consonant with organs of civil society, has put in place systems and mechanism to raise the quality of life of mainly poor and vulnerable South Africans. Some of these instruments are macro policies, development approaches and legislation. Their implementation and institutionalisation have safeguarded the livelihoods of millions of vulnerable South Africans. Without such instruments, many of these individuals would hardly survive and be weighed down by various social ills and human development challenges. This chapter argues that the foregoing state-led intervention are for not only engendering social well-being across various sectors of South Africa but help to promote healthy human relationships in the country.

line totals R1.7 billion over the Medium-Term Expenditure Framework (MTEF) period (National Treasury, 2019) .

According to Noyoo (2017, pp. 9-10) , South Africa is currently sitting with a mixed or hybrid welfare regime that constitutes reformed features of the old colonial-apartheid welfare regime, which is tax-based and non-contributory, and means-tested, such as the social assistance and public employment schemes; some class-based entitlements with 'race connotations' which owe their existence to the 'sunset clause' compromises (attributable to the negotiated settlement that led to the country's liberation) which are contributory or subsidised by the state, and the new social welfare provisions that arose out of the contestation of the liberation struggle, known as the 'social wage' and developmental social welfare services. The changes in the social welfare sector were facilitated with the finalisation and adoption of the White Paper for Social Welfare (1997) , which created parity for all races, through social welfare and social security services and programmes. According to the White Paper:

Social welfare policies and programmes which provide for cash transfers, social relief, and enabling and developmental services ensure that people have adequate economic and social protection during times of unemployment, ill-health, maternity, childrearing, widowhood, disability, old age and so on. Social welfare programmes of this nature contribute to human resource development by enabling impoverished households to provide adequate care for their members, especially children and those who are vulnerable. When such programmes are combined with capacity building, people can be released from the poverty trap (Ministry of Welfare & Population Development, 1997, p. 4). In this respect, a new social welfare paradigm was adopted by the country which was known as social development or the developmental approach to social welfare in the post-apartheid era. Therefore, South Africa essentially discarded the colonialapartheid welfare ethos, steeped in residualism welfare and racism. The residual approach to social welfare was characterised by minimal state intervention in the provision of social welfare services. This is because the state saw the family and market economy as the natural mechanisms for meeting needs. According to this thinking, it was only after the family and market broke down that the state was supposed to intervene and provide services to the people (McKendrick, 1987) . Undoubtedly, the country took bold steps to transform the welfare sector as the White Paper duly points out: South Africa has embarked on the arduous task of socio-political and economic reform. While sound economic policies and a well-functioning labour market are essential for growth and employment generation, by themselves, they are not sufficient. To reap the benefits, South Africa must invest in people; that is, develop the human capital which is essential for increasing productivity and moving people out of poverty. Internationally, the strategy that has proved most effective in improving economic and social well-being consists of three elements: labour-absorbing growth, equitable investments in education, health-care and social support for poor and vulnerable groups (Ministry of Welfare & Population Development, 1997, p.4 ).

The transformation of the policy and legislative realms was crucial to the meeting of the needs of the majority of the people in South Africa who are equally vulnerable and marginalised. The next section closely examines this issue.

After 27 April 1994, South Africa became a democratic country and its people were freed from colonial and apartheid oppression. In the past, racial discrimination and the exclusion of the majority African population from social, political and economic avenues of advancement were institutionalised via various policies and legislation. After 1994, this situation had to change. Hence, in 1994, the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) -a socio-economic policy framework -was launched by the new government to immediately respond to the various development deficits of the country. Thereafter, in 1996, the Growth Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) macro-economic strategy was adopted by the ANC government and this policy would greatly influence the social policy trajectory of the country. Furthermore, in 2004, the government adopted the Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative for South Africa (ASGISA) to co-ordinate and mobilise national efforts, towards growing the economy at an average rate of 4,5% between 2005 and 2009, and then an average rate of 6% between 2010 and 2014. ASGISA was South Africa's response to halving poverty, underdevelopment and unemployment by 2014, as part of its target of realising the United Nations' Millennium Development Goals (MDGs), set for 2015. Two years later, the Joint Initiative on Priority Skills Acquisition (JIPSA) was finalised by the government to bridge the efforts of government, business and organised labour. It also attempted to speed up the acquisition of priority skills in South Africa and to incorporate JIPSA into the country's Human Resource Development Strategy (HRDS).

In 2010, the New Growth Path (NGP) was unveiled by the government for purposes of responding to the emerging opportunities and risks in the economy, while building on policies advanced after the achievement of democracy, such as the RDP, which advocated greater equity as a basis for long-term development and growth.

The following year, the National Planning Commission (NPC) completed the National Development Plan (NDP) which was embraced as the country's national development strategy. Accordingly, the NDP seeks to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality in South Africa by 2030. It also envisages a country wherein all citizens have the capabilities to the ever-broadening opportunities available and to change the life chances of millions of South Africans, especially the youth -that remain stunted by the history of apartheid (NPC, 2011) . The NDP offers a long-term perspective and defines a desired destination and identifies the roles different sectors of society need to play in reaching that goal. The NDP aims to eliminate poverty and reduce inequality by 2030. The NPC (2011) asserts that South Africa can realise these goals by drawing on the energies of its people, and growing an inclusive economy, building capabilities, enhancing the capacity of the state, and promoting leadership, and partnerships throughout society. The foregoing macro policy frameworks and the Constitution (Act 108 of 1996) are touchstones of the transformation of the country and efforts by the state to meet the needs of poor and vulnerable South Africans. To give effect to these noble ideals, progressive legislation had to be passed while the old colonial and apartheid laws were repealed.

Legislation is central in making sure that South Africa is a safe country and that people behave in an appropriate manner. It enforces order through various Acts and municipality by-laws. The Constitution was approved by the Constitutional Court on 4 December 1996 and took effect on 4 February 1997. In a constitutional democracy such as South Africa, all laws are subject to the Constitution. As discussed in other chapters of this book, the Constitution is the supreme law of the Republic of South Africa. Therefore, the law and any obligations imposed by the former must be fulfilled by everyone in the country. The Parliament, the National Assembly (NA) and the National Council of Provinces (NCOP) are the role players in the making of laws in South Africa. Government departments and agencies, social service professions, as well as civil society actors, implement government policies and programmes, while being guided by the country's Constitution. The Bill of Rights that is enshrined in the Constitution informs these professionals' work as they respond to the plight of poor and vulnerable South Africans. Nevertheless, it is reiterated here that social workers and social development practitioners are the main professionals that this book is focussing on. Due to this, service delivery in South Africa is informed by the Rights-Based Approach. The goals of this approach include achieving social justice, a minimum standard of living, equitable access and equal opportunity to services and benefits, and a commitment to meeting the needs of all South Africans with special emphasis on the needs of the most disadvantaged in the society (Patel, 2005) .

The Constitution is buttressed by Chapter Nine Institutions which protect and secure the rights of citizens. They are namely: The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) which is responsible for promoting respect for human rights, by all South Africans, as well as protecting and monitoring human rights in the country. The SAHRC receives and investigates complaints of violations of human rights. The second institution is the Public Protector's office which secures the rights of citizens by safeguarding them from unfair treatment by the state and its officials. Maladministration and corruption in the public sector are scrutinised and kept in check by this office. The Commission for Gender Equality (CGE) is the third institution that monitors gender equality and is particularly concerned with the rights of women. It investigates and challenges laws, practices and customs that discriminate against people because of their gender. Another Chapter Nine Institution is the Commission for the Promotion and Protection of the Rights of Cultural, Religious and Linguistic Communities, which promotes respect for all communities in South Africa with regard to culture, religion and language. It seeks to build cohesion and national unity across South Africa. The office of the Auditor General (AG) provides oversight on government departments' accounts, financial statements and financial management. It monitors all government departments in the three spheres of government at the national, provincial and local levels. The Independent Broadcasting Authority (IBA) is another body that strengthens the Constitution and regulates broadcasting in the interest of the South African public. The Independent Electoral Commission (IEC) oversees elections at all three levels of government and makes sure that they are conducted in an impartial and transparent manner. It makes sure that elections are free and fair. Lastly, the Independent Complaints Directorate (ICD) investigates all cases of police wrong-doing, be it police brutality, corruption or any other misconduct on the part of the police. It also investigates violation of citizens' rights by the police.

To make the discussions of this chapter lucid as possible, it is important to define its key concepts. To begin with, social policy will be unpacked. The term social policy involves two aspects: First, it refers to the actual policies and programmes of governments that affect people's welfare. Second, it connotes an academic field of inquiry concerned with the description, explanation and evaluation of policies (Midgley, Tracy, & Livermore, 2000) . Of the different ways of influencing human well-being through social policy, the direct method is the most common; for example:

(i) Introduction of social services such as education, housing, income security and family, and community welfare (ii) The use of statutory regulation, for example, enacting legislation that mandates employers, home-owners, educational institutions, commercials firms and many others to adopt measures that have a direct impact on human well-being (iii) Through the tax system (Midgley et al., 2000) One of the major purposes of social policy is the redistribution of income (often) in order to move towards equity. It is this objective that has been subject to sustained attack by those who think that 'the social' poses a serious threat to development (Mkandawire, 2004) . However, this ability to redistribute wealth to the poorer and vulnerable segments of the population helps to raise their quality of life and enhance their livelihoods. In the long run, such interventions by the state also help to promote healthy human relationships. Furthermore, social policy can foster equality, social inclusion and poverty reduction when it is located within progressive regimes, for example, transformative social policy. This approach to social policy puts a high premium on universal membership and coverage of provision as opposed to residual social policy which only sees its role as intervening when there is market failure and a breakdown of the family (Mkandawire, 2006) . In this regard, social policy would also be underpinned by the norms of equality and social solidarity. Social policy framed by these norms serves many functions, for example, production, protection, reproduction, re-distribution and social cohesion or nation-building. Thus, social policy instruments would range from education to health care, agrarian reform, child care, old-age care, and to fiscal instruments (Adesina, 2010) .

Furthermore, social welfare and social welfare policy are key concepts which must be elucidated in order to provide clarity to the analyses of this chapter. When moving from a normative premise, social welfare is conceived in its most progressive and inclusive form. Therefore, a definition of social welfare befitting this book's perspective emphasises the idea of social welfare as a state or condition of human well-being. It denotes a state of being or doing well (Midgley, 1997; Burch, 1999) . According to Segal (2016, p. 2) in the term social welfare, 'social' speaks to the collective nature of society as citizens are part of many systems, and thus systems combine to form the larger society. In this regard, Zastrow (2010, p. 2) observes that the goal of social welfare is to fulfil the social, financial, health and recreational requirements of all individuals in a society. Social welfare seeks to enhance the social functioning of all age groups, both rich and poor. Zastrow (2010) makes a very important point here when he asserts that when other institutions in society such as the market economy and the family fail, at times, to meet the basic needs of individuals or groups of people, social services are needed and demanded. However, in less industrialised societies, people's basic needs have been fulfilled in more direct and informal ways.

It can thus be seen here that social welfare is playing the roles of the family and kin that had responded to the needs of individuals in the pre-colonial era, especially in Africa. But due to modernisation and urbanisation, African societies had to follow almost the same trajectory of European countries, where the meeting of needs began to be at a formal level. Therefore, formal systems and in this case, the social welfare system, had to be created in the modern states and then institutionalised. That is how social welfare systems took on their institutional character. In this way, social welfare will refer to a system of arrangements, programmes, mechanisms -formal or informal, governmental or non-governmental -that try to meet the needs of individuals and families who cannot fulfil such needs through their own resources (Johnson, Schwartz, & Tate, 1997) . Flowing from the genesis of social welfare was the development of the profession of social work. Midgley (1997) aptly points out that a major innovation in the promotion of social welfare was the emergence of professional social work in the mid-nineteenth century. Social work was an entirely new approach to dealing with social problems. For the first time, professionally trained personnel were available to assist individuals and their families to deal with their problems.

On the other hand, social welfare policy refers to the principles, activities or frameworks for action adopted by a government to ensure a socially defined level of individual, family, and community well-being (Blau & Abramovits, 2010, p. 21) . Social welfare and social work are primarily related at the level of practice (Zastrow, 2010) . In addition, social welfare marshalls financial resources needed for social workers to intervene on behalf of vulnerable groups. Thus, social welfare is a discretionary spending choice that provides basic necessities for the poor through taxes (Burch, 1999) . Taken further, social welfare policy gives effect to social welfare programmes and in this light, it is an essential part of any social worker's repertoire. This is because it defines and shapes social welfare programmes such as income support, employment, housing, health care and food (Blau & Abramovitz, 2010) . In some measure, social welfare policy covers what are referred to as the fields of practice or what may be likened to 'welfare provision' in the areas of 'social security, education and training, housing, health and community care ser-vices, work and training services, criminal justice services and policy, personal services' (Walsh, Stephens, & Moore, 2000, p. 19) .

According to Dobelstein (1986) , there are prominent participants in the social welfare policy-making process and these are: (1) important government officials, such as the president and high-ranking bureaucratic chiefs; (2) private citizens who have high public visibility; (3) staff members in administrative bureaucracies; (4) legislative bodies; (5) researchers who provide evidence regarding policy effects and (6) professionals such as social workers. Popple and Leighninger (1998, pp. 30-31) contend that there are three levels of social welfare policy practice, namely: Ultimately, it will be social workers who actualise or give meaning to the policy intent that was expressed by a particular social welfare policy. Nevertheless, it is important to note that social workers do not operate in a socio-political and economic vacuum. Also, there is no one-on-one relationship between a social worker and client that is not impacted upon by macro-economic frameworks such as legislation, or protocols, or departmental budgets. Equally, any specific worker-client relationship will take place within a cultural context that holds particular attitudes towards fundamental dimensions of life such as sexual relationships, child-rearing practices, roles associated with gender and so forth (Hennessey, 2011) .

Another important issue that informs this chapter's discussions is social security. The concepts of social security and social protection have evolved over time, and are used in various ways throughout the world. Due to the multiple forms that both concepts take nowadays, achieving definitional clarity is a formidable challenge -particularly as neither term is used consistently, differing widely across countries and international organisations. In addition, new terms have been added to the classical terminology, such as social transfers, conditional and unconditional cash transfers and the Social Protection Floor observes the International Labour Organisation (ILO) (2011, p. 8). For purposes of this discussion, social protection is defined as the core of social policy which comprises social insurance, social assistance and the central element of family care and solidarity. Based on contributions, social insurance is a tool for mitigating life cycle risks and covers the following: illness, unemployment, old age and injury. Social assistance is taken as a tool for poverty alleviation, and is generally financed from the public budget and may take the form of financial assistance to people in need or subsidies: cash or in-kind transfers to vulnerable groups (Economic & Social Commission for Western Asia, 2009). Social protection plays a particularly important role in realising the human rights to social security for vulnerable persons, for example, older persons. This mechanism ensures that income security and access to essential services, including health and care ser-vices, promotes the rights and dignity of vulnerable individuals like older persons. Reliable sources of income security play a particularly important role for older persons. Public social security pensions have become important institutional solutions to guarantee income security in old age (ILO, 2014) . In this regard, the right to income security in old age, as grounded in human rights instruments and international labour standards, includes the right to an adequate social security pension. Ensuring rights, dignity and income security of older women and men depends also on their access to social services, including health care and long-term care (ILO, 2014).

This section will present two cases where the policies and programmes of the state have strengthened human relationships in post-apartheid South Africa. These are namely the Old Age Grant or pension and the Child Support Grant (CSG).

One of the positive unintended consequences of the social assistance programme and particularly the Old Age Grant (Pension) is the promotion of healthy human relationships in post-apartheid South Africa. This issue is also linked to the HIV/AIDS pandemic which decimated families and communities. Due to this, a new problem of orphans emerged on a grand scale. In many instances, when there were grand-parents, especially grand-mothers, they were the ones who filled the void of deceased parents in communities across South Africa. This trend is still continuing in the country and elsewhere on the African continent. However, the foregoing issue is compounded by high rates of unemployment according to Plagerson and Ulriksen (2015) . Therefore, at the heart of building families and communities by the grand-mothers (known as Gogos in South Africa) is the Old Age Pension. This direct cash transfer, from the state, was and continues to be used to look after and raise families mostly constituting orphans:

The state grants that reach older persons have a profound effect on relations between generations. For instance, old age pensions operate as a very extensive and effective poverty alleviation scheme in South Africa. These are essentially distributive in nature; they reach more rural communities than urban and benefit more women than men. As a result, the Old Age Grant has assisted in enhancing the status of the elderly, as they have become wage earners and breadwinners (Makiwane, 2011, p. 6 ).

This pension is 'stretched' by the Gogos (Gogo in singular) through various innovative strategies that have enabled them to buy school uniforms for their grandchildren and other orphans. The pension has also allowed them to pay for the children's school fees. This ability by the Gogos to financially meet the needs of households is given credence by the old-age pension which they receive on a monthly basis. As can be noted from the citation above, this cash transfer plays a critical role in not only meeting the needs of families and households, but promotes healthy human relationships. Without this amount of money, and the way it is innovatively employed by grand-mothers, there would be probably no proper human relationships existing in households and families across the poorer sections of the country. The foregoing position is echoed by numerous research studies and scholars alike, such as those by Economic Policy Research Institute (EPRI) (2004), Patel and Triegaardt (2008) and Plagerson and Ulriksen (2015) , among others. The Old Age Grant has positive knock-on effects on households which among others serves as an anti-poverty measure:

Due to mass unemployment in South Africa, pension recipients are often the only contributors to income in households and thus, support the entire family on their SOAP [State Old Age Pension] grant (Potts, 2012, p. 85 ).

In addition, the Green Paper for Families duly notes that evidence from research supports the above assertions and suggests that government programmes, such as the Social Assistance Programmes, Disability Grant, Child Support Grant and the State Old Age Pension are used and pooled by recipients as some form of 'family grant' and are not only meeting the needs of the recipient. This is part of the reason that social grants are making a significant contribution towards poverty reduction because families use them as a family benefit (Department of Social Development, 2011). The Green Paper for Families also recognises the role that the foregoing policy instruments and programmes play in building family life: Like many other families in the developing world, South African families have been forced to adapt to colonialism, urbanisation and globalisation. Family life refers to those activities that enable a family to effectively play its roles in society, such as nurturing, socialising, parenting, and the delineation of both sex and gender roles. The ways in which family members behave and interact with one another are all central to family life. Family life will also cover the quality of relationships between various members, for example, between parents and children, or between spouses and siblings (Department of Social Development, 2011, p. 46).

After the Child Support Grant (CSG) was adopted in 1996, this form of state assistance increased exponentially and now covers a wider population than it was initially envisaged. The positive spin-offs of the CSG have been identified by many in South Africa as developmental in content and outlook. It is a crucial mechanism for safeguarding the livelihoods of millions of South African children. However, just like the old-age pension, the CSG is leveraged for family preservation or household sustenance. It is indeed a very important social protection instrument. Several studies have also been undertaken in order to show the value or positive impact of the CSG. One research study which was undertaken by the Department of Social Development (DSD), the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) in 2012 found out that the CSG promoted nutritional, educational and health outcomes. The study also notes that early receipt of this grant 'significantly strengthens a number of these important impacts, providing an investment in people that reduces multiple dimension indicators of poverty, promotes better gender outcomes and reduces inequality'. The study also discovered that adolescents receiving the CSG were more likely to have positive educational outcomes and are less likely to experience child labour or less likely to engage in behaviours that put their health and well-being at risk.

This chapter argued that social policy, social welfare, social security and legislation promoted healthy human relationships in post-apartheid South Africa. In most cases, social workers are the ones who implement such policies and legislation in their work of providing services to vulnerable groups. It can therefore be noted that by responding to and meeting the needs of the most vulnerable, such instruments have helped to strengthen the livelihoods of these citizens in the last 26 years of democracy. Therefore, the benefits of the foregoing state interventions, at household levels, in terms of social services or cash transfers, for instance, help to directly or indirectly promote healthy human relationships in the country. The chapter also showed how social grants, when they are innovatively employed by the beneficiaries, help to meet the needs of families and households and not only themselves. Lastly, it can be argued that the strengthening of families is also coupled with efforts to build healthy human relationships in South Africa.

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