Abstract:
The right to social assistance is entrenched in the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996. In South Africa, all citizens are entitled to access to social security, including appropriate social assistance, if they are unable to support themselves and their dependants. The Child Support Grant (CSG) is an important instrument of social protection in South Africa, reaching over 12 million South African children each month. The study investigated the implementation of the CSG policy in the Kwa-Zulu Natal Province. The research objective of this study was to describe, analyse and evaluate the effectiveness of the implementation of the CSG policy aimed at alleviating the effects of poverty and improving the lives of citizens. Over the years, South Africa's social grant programme has evolved into one of the most comprehensive social protection systems in the developing world. Extending coverage of the Child Support Grant's criteria for eligibility include an increase in the age limit from seven to 18 years old, and adjustments to the income threshold to take inflation into account and improve equity. The process of policy implementation is unique to each situation. Hence, it is important to identify factors which shape the directions that implementation might take. It is important for the Department of Social Development (DSD) to address these factors. Thus this study focused on evaluating the implementation of the CSG policy by the DSD and the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA). The complexities of policy implementation can be seen as one of the reasons for ineffective implementation of the CSG policy. The study used a mixed method approach to gather and analyse data. A case study research design was chosen, because the study intended to understand the situation in its natural setting. The methods of data collection included individual interviews with SASSA officials, and both interview and focus group for beneficiaries and document analysis. The study used semistructured interview questions to interview public officials in the DSD who are responsible for implementing the CSG policy and beneficiaries (caregivers) who are benefiting indirectly from the CSG policy. The open ended questions were categorised into themes. The main reason was to gather relevant information about the implementation of the CSG policy, and about the subjective experience of that implementation, both from people involved in the implementation of the CSG policy and from beneficiaries. The data collected through the interviews provided relevant policy information which was previously unknown, and was instrumental in this investigation. The findings revealed that the DSD and SASSA face many challenges in implementing the CSG policy. Analysis of the findings revealed that administrative issues, implementation issues, sustainability issues and corruption are some of the challenges encountered during the implementation of the CSG policy. The study made several recommendations to improve the implementation of CSG policy.
