By Lumka Oliphant
Government remains committed to building a better South Africa for all, as envisaged by former President Nelson Mandela.
The more we get things right and strengthen legislation and policies, the more the target seems to outpace the five years of any single administration. One such example is anything related to social assistance or social grants.
Last week, two things caught my eye around social assistance that I think we need to talk openly and honestly about:
1. The maternity benefits or pregnancy grant as it was framed, and
2. The supposed underspending by the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) of R4 billion on the grant – the second one being the most contentious one.
Let us deal with the first one quickly. I would have loved to delve deeper on the R4 billion supposed underspending but it is a subject of a court challenge and these facts will be part of the court case.
So, it would be premature to discuss these in the public domain.
The Maternal Support Grant (MSG) Draft Policy has been in the making by the Department of Social Development since 2012, when the department commissioned a study on the feasibility of introducing maternity benefits in South Africa.
At the time, the study sought to investigate state support options for vulnerable pregnant women.
The study was necessitated, amongst others, by the acknowledgement and recognition of the constitutional provision that everyone has the right to have access to social security and that those who are unable to support themselves and their dependents should access appropriate social assistance (Section 27, (1) (C) of the Constitution).
Following the conclusion of the study, an interdepartmental task team (IDTT) was formed. It was led by the departments of Health and Social Development, and included the SASSA, and the departments of Basic Education, Higher Education, Home Affairs, Justice and Labour, among others.
The team was also supported by national and international organisations with a particular focus on addressing stunting in South Africa – they provided technical support.
A workshop held in 2015 acknowledged all the pregnancy-related services offered across government, coming to the conclusion that there was a need to link them, hence the institution of the task team.
The central objective of the MSG Draft Policy is to provide comprehensive support to vulnerable pregnant women who are unable to support or take care of themselves.
It intends to introduce a state social assistance provision for vulnerable pregnant women in order to improve the health and wellbeing of vulnerable mothers and their unborn children.
The draft policy also aims to provide an MSG linked to related services from the first trimester up to the first 1000 days of a child’s life.
It is also expected to assist the Department of Home Affairs in its effort to register all births in South Africa within 30 days of birth.
Policy-making is a very rigorous process, which begins with research to gather evidence, developing a discussion document and subsequently a policy document.
This policy is no exception, and to this end, the discussion and draft policy document were extensively consulted across government, civil society, organised labour as well as potential beneficiaries.
Subsequent to having extensively consulted the discussion paper prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the department conducted extensive consultations around the country – between May 2022 and March 2023, wherein a total of 27 consultations were completed.
The draft policy has already been taken to the Social Protection, Community and Human Development Cluster – a normal government policy process – and has been given the green light for tabling at Cabinet for consideration for public comments.
It should be noted that this is a policy of government and should be contextualised as such.
Should Cabinet support the draft policy for public comments, we will encourage all interested parties at the right time to raise their voices so that we can strengthen our child protection services within the first 1000 days of a child.
Lumka Oliphant is the Acting Deputy Director-General for Corporate Support Services at the Department of Social Development.
