South Africa has one of the most extensive social welfare systems among developing countries in the world. In 2019, an estimated 18 million people received some form of social grant provided by the government.

Social welfare programmes have a long history in South Africa. The earliest form of social welfare programme in South Africa is the poor relief distributed by the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) in 1657. The institutionalised social welfare system was established after the British conquered the Dutch Cape Colony in 1806.

However, the social welfare system focused mainly on poor whites and excluded blacks. Under apartheid, the social welfare services for Africans, Indians and Coloreds were separated from that for whites. The allocation of social welfare resources favoured whites. The post-apartheid government launched the Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP) in 1994 and published the White Paper for Social Welfare in 1997 to establish the framework of social welfare system in post-apartheid South Africa.Republic of South Africa. (1997). Ministry for Welfare and Population Development. 1997. White Paper for Social Welfare. Notice 1108 of 1997. Government Gazette, 386(18166). Pretoria: Government Printers. They were aimed to address racial disparity in the delivery of social welfare services. Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) was launched in 1996 in response to the 1996 currency crisis. GEAR reduces government's spending, leading to the shrinkage of social grants. Social assistance, including grants and public works, is funded through tax revenue, unlike statutory and voluntary funds that are funded by employers and employees.Oosthuizen,Morné. South Africa : Social Assistance Programs and Systems Review (English). Washington, D.C. : World Bank Group. http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/238611633430611402/South-Africa-Social-Assistance-Programs-and-Systems-Review

Social welfare programmes in South Africa include cash assistance, unemployment insurance, medical provisions, and housing subsidies. Cash assistance is distributed by the South African Social Security Agency on behalf of the Department of Social Development of South Africa (DSD). The cash assistance programmes that are currently available include the Child support Grant, the Foster child Grant, old-age pension, disability grant, care dependency grant, Social Relief of Distress R350/370 and war veterans grant.

There are both support and criticism regarding the social welfare programmes in South Africa. Supporters argue that grants such as the Child Support Grant and the old-age pension improve the nutrition status and school enrolment rates of poor children. However, critics points out corruption and maladministration in the social welfare system and the poor quality of RDP housing.

History

Pre-apartheid The pre-apartheid social programmes in South Africa was mainly concerned with white poverty. The earliest social welfare programmes in South Africa was the poor relief distributed by the Dutch East India Company and the Dutch Reformed Church (DRC) in 1657. The poor relief aimed at helping white farmers (Boers) whose crops failed and excluded Black farmers from the relief.

The institutionalised social welfare system was established after the British conquered the Dutch Cape Colony in 1806. The welfare resources for children and the disabled were created. The organised occupational insurance after retirement was established in the 1920s. However, the occupational insurance after retirement included mostly skilled workers, most of whom were white.

The labour movement organised by poor white industrial workers in the 1920s drew the government's attention to the poor white problem. The Department Of Labor was created to create work opportunities for white labours. The Wage Act in 1925 established a minimum wage for white labours, called "the white survival line," to protect white workers from poverty and ensure white privilege over non-white workers.

In 1937, a state Department of Social Welfare was established. The Department of Social Welfare was responsible for providing social welfare services to the public but its main focus was on poor whites.

Under apartheid In the early 1950s, the social welfare services for African, Indian and Colored persons were separated from the Department of Social Welfare and transferred to the Departments of Bantu Administration, Indian Affairs and Colored Affairs, respectively. The separation of social welfare resources led to unequal allocation of resources based on race. The budget for welfare services for whites were higher than that for the majority blacks and the available grants for whites were more abundant than those for blacks.

Moreover, the way of the delivery of the services also reflected racial discrimination: the grants for whites, Indians, and Coloreds were distributed by check while the grants for Blacks were distributed at mobile sites, such as under trees and in stores.

Occupational retirement insurance was created in the 1920s. However, low skilled labour was not included in the insurance until the 1960s. In the 1960s and 1970s, occupational retirement insurance expanded rapidly to include many low skilled labour, many of whom were black. Meanwhile, trade union movement organised by white workers extended the coverage of occupational retirement insurance to more industries.

In the 1980s, in response to the growing protests against apartheid, the white minority government increased expenditure on social welfare services for black South Africans. According to economist Sampie Terreblanche, "by 1990 whites accounted for only 23% of welfare spending, whilst Coloureds and Indians received 24% and Africans 52%."

Post-apartheid

Reconstruction and Development Programme (RDP)

The White Paper for Social Welfare The post-apartheid government published the White Paper for Social Welfare in 1995 and it was adopted by Cabinet in 1997. The White Paper proposed policies and programmes to implement the principles established in RDP. The programmes proposed by the White Paper included Unemployment Insurance, free health care programs for pregnant women and small children, free meals for students, and poor relief that would guarantee a minimum income for families and children. The White Paper also integrated the 14 welfare departments based on race and established the Ministry for Welfare and Population Development and nine provincial departments to administer social welfare services.

Growth, Employment and Redistribution (GEAR) GEAR was the conservative macroeconomic policy South African government adopted in response to the 1996 currency crisis in an attempt to regain confidence in domestic and global capital market. GEAR prioritised economic growth, believing that economic growth could solve poverty problem by job creation. GEAR emphasised that economic growth should be led by the private sector and reduced the role state took in economy. As a result, the decrease in public spending led to the elimination or shrinkage of social services.

Types of Programmes

Social Security Grants

The Child Support Grant (CSG) The Child Support Grant was introduced in 1998. CSG is a cash assistance to poor children under the age of 6 and expanded to children under the age of 14 in 2005. CSG paid the guardians of the eligible children R460 per month per child in 2022 through the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) under the DSD. According to the National Treasury of South Africa, "the CSG is now one of the largest social assistance programmes in post-apartheid South Africa reaching 11.2 million children in 2012–13, i.e., approximately 59 per cent of children." The government expenditure on CSG accounted for 3.4 per cent of GDP in 2014.

The government did not add any conditions upon the reception of CSG initially. However, since 2010, the children have to attend school to be eligible to receive CSG.

Studies have revealed that the recipients of CSG showed better nutrition status, higher scores on a height to weight growth chart, and better school enrolment rates compared to children who are equally poor.

The Foster Child Grant (FCG) Foster parents of children under the age of 15 were eligible for the Foster Child Grant in 2010. Since 2012, the qualification for FCG expanded to include foster children under the age of 18. The value of FCG per month per child is R1050 in 2022, more than twice the size of the Child Support Grant. These benefits are received through cash, direct deposit, or through an overseeing institution. The grant is reviewed every 2 years through a court, and may be suspended or lapse if the child's parental circumstances have changed, the guardians fail to comply with the court, or there is evidence of fraudulence when filing for FCG.

National School Nutrition Program (NSNP) The National School Nutrition Program began in 1994 with a mandate to provide free lunch in all non-fee-paying schools (i.e., those categorized as quintiles 1 through 3 in the South African schools classification system). As of 2020, 9.6 million school children (about two-thirds of whom are primary school students and one-third of whom are secondary school students) benefited from the program. The NSNP reaches an estimated 72% of school-age children in the country. Foods are purchased domestically, and the program is wholly government-funded with a budget of about US$520 million.

Old-age pension The old-age pension accounts for the highest amount of government expenditure among all social assistance programmes in South Africa.

The old-age pension was established in South Africa as early as the 1920s. However, the old-age pension system had reflected strong racial inequality until the 1990s. For example, in the early 1980s, whites received benefits 10 times the benefits received by blacks. From 1989 to 1993, the government took efforts to reform the old-age pension to expand it to the entire population and eliminate racial inequality in the pension programme. The benefits blacks received increased from R1555 a year in 1980 to R3081 a year in 1993. The pension programme has not undergone large reforms since 1993 but the government adjusts the monetary value in accordance to inflation rates. In 2010, women aged 60 and above and men aged 61 above could receive R21000 per year.

Disability grant

People with disabilities above the age of 18 are eligible for the disability grant. They can receive R1010 per month per person.

Care Dependency Grant Parents, guardians, and primary caregivers of children with disabilities are able to qualify for the Care Dependency Grant. To qualify, single parents must earn less than R223 200 annually and couples must earn less than R446 400 collectively, with exemptions made for foster parents. The grant provides recipients R1 890 per month via cash, electronic deposit, or administrative institution.

War veterans grant Veterans who fought in the Second World War (1939–1945) or the Korean War (1950–1953) and who are above the age of 60 are eligible to the war veteran grant provided by the Department of Military Veterans. Each veteran can receive R1,800 per month from the South African Social Security Agency. During the Second World War, South Africa sent approximately 200,000 troops to support the Allied Forces and 826 troops to the Korean War in the 2 Squadron.

Unemployment Insurance (UI)