Date: 16/01/2005
Source: Department of Social Development
Title: Skweyiya: Launch of Charlotte Maxeke Collaboration in Economics of Social Protection
Address by Dr ZST Skweyiya, Minister of Social Development, at the launch of the Charlotte Maxeke Collaboration in the Economics of Social Protection; University of Pretoria
Programme director
Distinguished guests
Vice Chancellor of the University of Pretoria
Ladies and gentlemen
It is good to see that all the hard work that has gone into initiating the Charlotte Maxeke Collaboration in the Economics of Social Protection is reaching a successful conclusion. We have now created a platform and the institutional capacity for the real work to begin, and it is a good time to remind ourselves of the purpose of this Collaboration between the Department of Economics at the University and the Department of Social Development in government.
I will therefore begin my address by speaking to the broader context of this collaboration and the challenges facing our country.
Allow me first, however, to express my appreciation to all of you for gracing this occasion when we dedicate this collaboration in honour of Charlotte Manye Maxeke – a remarkable woman and leader. With respect to the significance of Charlotte Maxeke, I will restrict myself to saying that in her memory, it is appropriate that this launch is taking place at an institution of academic and research excellence. We should recall that 100 years ago Charlotte Maxeke was making her mark as an outstanding student at Wilberforce University in the United States under the tutelage of the great African American intellectual - WEB Du Bois.
In her memory, it is also appropriate that this launch is taking place in the year when we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1956 Women’s March on Pretoria. This march drew participants from across a broad cross-section of our society and entrenched the role of women at the forefront of our liberation. I urge you all to read and familiarise yourselves with the leadership role that Charlotte Maxeke played in modernising and liberating our society at the turn of the last century. She was a pioneer and leader in the education, social welfare, faith and political sectors of our society.
The subject matter of the collaboration in the Economics of Social Protection is the same as the fundamental challenge facing our country in the second Decade of Democracy – that of promoting and accelerating sustained development and shared growth. This is against the backdrop of our goals of creating jobs, eradicating poverty, creating a better life for all, and building a non-racial and non-sexist society.
A decade ago, we were confronted with the reality that we had inherited a society and an economy that were not addressing the challenges of poverty, social exclusion, inequality, gross violations of human rights, high levels of unemployment, and stagnating growth. We therefore had no doubt that social security had to be a cornerstone of the new democratic and developmental state. Our Bill of Rights thus contains a constitutional imperative that compels the government to ensure the progressive realisation of the right to access social security.
In order to give full expression to our commitment to addressing high levels of poverty and unemployment, we soon realised that we had to go beyond a traditional conception of social security. Our policies and strategies are therefore focused on social protection programmes that include income support, asset and capability measures and social insurance programmes.
The main recipients of our income support measures are the following categories of poor people - families with children, people with disabilities and the elderly. By and large the targeted recipients of social grants are not expected to fully participate in the labour market. An additional conditionality is an income-based means test. Although up-take rates for various social grants differ, there has been a rapid although uneven expansion of coverage. Through our programme of social grants we currently provide income support to over 10 million poor people in our country.
In collaboration with a number of academics and researchers in our country we have built up a substantial evidence base that shows that the primary policy impact of our social grants has been to effectively target poor people and reduce poverty.
Social grants are financed through general tax revenues and it is projected that social assistance spending will constitute approximately 3.2% of Gross Domestic Product in the current financial year. Data on the incidence of government spending indicates that social assistance, the provision of social grants, is government’s most pro-poor intervention. Not only is our social assistance programme redistributive, according to a recent study, social grants reduce poverty by 66.6% when the destitution poverty line is used as benchmark.
Institute (EPRI) found that social grants also impact the economic opportunities of poor households. The provision of social grants translates relatively quickly into enduring positive impacts on labour market participation, employment success, and realised wages. In addition, social grants have positive indirect effects on economic growth through improved education. This particular study on the economic impact of social grants supplemented other research findings on the positive correlation between receiving social grants and household nutritional status and school attendance.
There is a high financial cost attached to the scale at which we provide social assistance but it has to be seen in terms of the on-going benefits of poverty reduction and enhanced social inclusion. Because of South Africa’s legacy of poverty and social exclusion, the trajectory of our work initially focused exclusively on targeted social assistance. But it is now focused on establishing a framework of comprehensive social protection. Comprehensive social protection includes income support, asset and capability measures and social insurance programmes.
We have recently put in place a new programme of income support targeting poor unemployed individuals through an Expanded Public Works Programme. This programme is intended to create work opportunities and enhance the skills of the participants whilst also providing income support. With respect to asset and capability measures, we provide a range of free basic services to poor households at the municipal level of government. Essential social services such as water and sanitation are reaching a significantly larger proportion of households than was the case in 1994.
Access to primary health care has also improved and the urban housing backlog inherited from the apartheid era is systematically being addressed. Through the land restitution programme, significant land transfers to households will be implemented. With respect to social insurance, our programmes cover short-term unemployment, compensation for occupational injuries and diseases, health care, road accidents and retirement provision.
Issues of social protection are a vital concern in any society because they encompass protecting people against all manner of contingencies and risks; ensuring access to basic needs; and building social cohesion and solidarity. They are also of importance because they have substantial financial and economic implications for individuals, community groupings, business enterprises, and governments.
In our country, because of the dimensions, composition and size of our system of social protection, issue of the financing and affordability are a pressing concern. With respect to the long-term sustainability of our system of social protection, the following key issues will also have to be factored into our research and capacity building agenda:
1. The increasing incidence of employment in the informal sector.
2. The restriction of large parts of social insurance to only the formal employment context. This results in some people, who could be accommodated in social insurance schemes, being dependent on social assistance.
3. The alignment between the contributory and non-contributory components of social security.
4. The viability of large scale programmes aimed at the labour market integration of members of households receiving social assistance.
5. The social and economic impact of HIV and AIDS.
6. The impact of public retirement and medical insurance schemes. And,
7. The creation of a national social security agency to address administrative inefficiencies and leakages from the system. It is our expectation that the Charlotte Maxeke collaboration in the Economics of Social Protection will also bring a comparative perspective to bear in the scientific investigation of and public debates on these and other subjects. For instance, what roles have social protection schemes played in the developmental states of East Asia and what lessons can be learnt from these experiences?
The research and programme development activities undertaken under the auspices of the collaboration should also speak to South Africa’s own Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative. Proceeding from the premise that the current macroeconomic and social environment affords us the opportunity to pursue higher and shared growth, the main issues under consideration in the Initiative include: infrastructure development, sector investment strategies, education and skills development, Second Economy interventions and improving the capacity of the state to provide economic services. How can our programme of comprehensive social protection enhance efforts in these areas?
It should be noted that the Collaboration is in line with government’s objectives of building State capacity and the training courses that will be offered will enable public servants at all levels of government to respond effectively to the challenges of social transformation. In the long run work undertaken in the Collaboration will reduce dependence on social assistance.
Our objective is to cut poverty and unemployment by half by the end of our Second Decade of Democracy and the Charlotte Maxeke Collaboration in the Economics of Social Protection has a vital role to play in this effort. We appreciate the commitment of the Department of Economics at the University of Pretoria to this task and call upon researchers in the social sciences in other academic institutions to also engage this national agenda of social transformation.
We all bear a profound responsibility to continue the social transformation and modernisation of our society and the launch of this collaboration augers well for the future.
I thank you.
Enquiries:
Lakela Kaunda
Tel: (012) 312 7653
Cell: 082 782 2575
Issued by: Department of Social Development
16 January 2006
Source: Department of Social Development
Title: Skweyiya: Launch of Charlotte Maxeke Collaboration in Economics of Social Protection
Address by Dr ZST Skweyiya, Minister of Social Development, at the launch of the Charlotte Maxeke Collaboration in the Economics of Social Protection; University of Pretoria
Programme director
Distinguished guests
Vice Chancellor of the University of Pretoria
Ladies and gentlemen
It is good to see that all the hard work that has gone into initiating the Charlotte Maxeke Collaboration in the Economics of Social Protection is reaching a successful conclusion. We have now created a platform and the institutional capacity for the real work to begin, and it is a good time to remind ourselves of the purpose of this Collaboration between the Department of Economics at the University and the Department of Social Development in government.
I will therefore begin my address by speaking to the broader context of this collaboration and the challenges facing our country.
Allow me first, however, to express my appreciation to all of you for gracing this occasion when we dedicate this collaboration in honour of Charlotte Manye Maxeke – a remarkable woman and leader. With respect to the significance of Charlotte Maxeke, I will restrict myself to saying that in her memory, it is appropriate that this launch is taking place at an institution of academic and research excellence. We should recall that 100 years ago Charlotte Maxeke was making her mark as an outstanding student at Wilberforce University in the United States under the tutelage of the great African American intellectual - WEB Du Bois.
In her memory, it is also appropriate that this launch is taking place in the year when we celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1956 Women’s March on Pretoria. This march drew participants from across a broad cross-section of our society and entrenched the role of women at the forefront of our liberation. I urge you all to read and familiarise yourselves with the leadership role that Charlotte Maxeke played in modernising and liberating our society at the turn of the last century. She was a pioneer and leader in the education, social welfare, faith and political sectors of our society.
The subject matter of the collaboration in the Economics of Social Protection is the same as the fundamental challenge facing our country in the second Decade of Democracy – that of promoting and accelerating sustained development and shared growth. This is against the backdrop of our goals of creating jobs, eradicating poverty, creating a better life for all, and building a non-racial and non-sexist society.
A decade ago, we were confronted with the reality that we had inherited a society and an economy that were not addressing the challenges of poverty, social exclusion, inequality, gross violations of human rights, high levels of unemployment, and stagnating growth. We therefore had no doubt that social security had to be a cornerstone of the new democratic and developmental state. Our Bill of Rights thus contains a constitutional imperative that compels the government to ensure the progressive realisation of the right to access social security.
In order to give full expression to our commitment to addressing high levels of poverty and unemployment, we soon realised that we had to go beyond a traditional conception of social security. Our policies and strategies are therefore focused on social protection programmes that include income support, asset and capability measures and social insurance programmes.
The main recipients of our income support measures are the following categories of poor people - families with children, people with disabilities and the elderly. By and large the targeted recipients of social grants are not expected to fully participate in the labour market. An additional conditionality is an income-based means test. Although up-take rates for various social grants differ, there has been a rapid although uneven expansion of coverage. Through our programme of social grants we currently provide income support to over 10 million poor people in our country.
In collaboration with a number of academics and researchers in our country we have built up a substantial evidence base that shows that the primary policy impact of our social grants has been to effectively target poor people and reduce poverty.
Social grants are financed through general tax revenues and it is projected that social assistance spending will constitute approximately 3.2% of Gross Domestic Product in the current financial year. Data on the incidence of government spending indicates that social assistance, the provision of social grants, is government’s most pro-poor intervention. Not only is our social assistance programme redistributive, according to a recent study, social grants reduce poverty by 66.6% when the destitution poverty line is used as benchmark.
Institute (EPRI) found that social grants also impact the economic opportunities of poor households. The provision of social grants translates relatively quickly into enduring positive impacts on labour market participation, employment success, and realised wages. In addition, social grants have positive indirect effects on economic growth through improved education. This particular study on the economic impact of social grants supplemented other research findings on the positive correlation between receiving social grants and household nutritional status and school attendance.
There is a high financial cost attached to the scale at which we provide social assistance but it has to be seen in terms of the on-going benefits of poverty reduction and enhanced social inclusion. Because of South Africa’s legacy of poverty and social exclusion, the trajectory of our work initially focused exclusively on targeted social assistance. But it is now focused on establishing a framework of comprehensive social protection. Comprehensive social protection includes income support, asset and capability measures and social insurance programmes.
We have recently put in place a new programme of income support targeting poor unemployed individuals through an Expanded Public Works Programme. This programme is intended to create work opportunities and enhance the skills of the participants whilst also providing income support. With respect to asset and capability measures, we provide a range of free basic services to poor households at the municipal level of government. Essential social services such as water and sanitation are reaching a significantly larger proportion of households than was the case in 1994.
Access to primary health care has also improved and the urban housing backlog inherited from the apartheid era is systematically being addressed. Through the land restitution programme, significant land transfers to households will be implemented. With respect to social insurance, our programmes cover short-term unemployment, compensation for occupational injuries and diseases, health care, road accidents and retirement provision.
Issues of social protection are a vital concern in any society because they encompass protecting people against all manner of contingencies and risks; ensuring access to basic needs; and building social cohesion and solidarity. They are also of importance because they have substantial financial and economic implications for individuals, community groupings, business enterprises, and governments.
In our country, because of the dimensions, composition and size of our system of social protection, issue of the financing and affordability are a pressing concern. With respect to the long-term sustainability of our system of social protection, the following key issues will also have to be factored into our research and capacity building agenda:
1. The increasing incidence of employment in the informal sector.
2. The restriction of large parts of social insurance to only the formal employment context. This results in some people, who could be accommodated in social insurance schemes, being dependent on social assistance.
3. The alignment between the contributory and non-contributory components of social security.
4. The viability of large scale programmes aimed at the labour market integration of members of households receiving social assistance.
5. The social and economic impact of HIV and AIDS.
6. The impact of public retirement and medical insurance schemes. And,
7. The creation of a national social security agency to address administrative inefficiencies and leakages from the system. It is our expectation that the Charlotte Maxeke collaboration in the Economics of Social Protection will also bring a comparative perspective to bear in the scientific investigation of and public debates on these and other subjects. For instance, what roles have social protection schemes played in the developmental states of East Asia and what lessons can be learnt from these experiences?
The research and programme development activities undertaken under the auspices of the collaboration should also speak to South Africa’s own Accelerated and Shared Growth Initiative. Proceeding from the premise that the current macroeconomic and social environment affords us the opportunity to pursue higher and shared growth, the main issues under consideration in the Initiative include: infrastructure development, sector investment strategies, education and skills development, Second Economy interventions and improving the capacity of the state to provide economic services. How can our programme of comprehensive social protection enhance efforts in these areas?
It should be noted that the Collaboration is in line with government’s objectives of building State capacity and the training courses that will be offered will enable public servants at all levels of government to respond effectively to the challenges of social transformation. In the long run work undertaken in the Collaboration will reduce dependence on social assistance.
Our objective is to cut poverty and unemployment by half by the end of our Second Decade of Democracy and the Charlotte Maxeke Collaboration in the Economics of Social Protection has a vital role to play in this effort. We appreciate the commitment of the Department of Economics at the University of Pretoria to this task and call upon researchers in the social sciences in other academic institutions to also engage this national agenda of social transformation.
We all bear a profound responsibility to continue the social transformation and modernisation of our society and the launch of this collaboration augers well for the future.
I thank you.
Enquiries:
Lakela Kaunda
Tel: (012) 312 7653
Cell: 082 782 2575
Issued by: Department of Social Development
16 January 2006
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