Regulating access to the disability grant in South Africa, 1990-2013 (WP 332)

Abstract

Disability is a universally difficult concept to define and assess for social assistance and social insurance purposes and these benefits have proven difficult to administer internationally because of ambiguities present in the process of determining the employability of people with physical impairments. In post-apartheid South Africa, disability grants (DGs) have proved especially difficult to regulate because of the added complexities of high levels of structural unemployment and poverty, an HIV epidemic and a social security system which does not cater adequately for all groups in need of support. The paper identifies three periods in the state's attempts to improve DG administration through legislative and regulatory measures since 1990: 1) a period of extending access and overcoming administrative barriers, supported by a socio-economic rights discourse; 2) a period of growth and generous access, resulting in growing concern about over-generosity and fiscal sustainability; 3) a period of action or 'rationalisation' in which the state places new limits on access to the grants, leading to decline in the number of social grant recipients. Common to all three periods are numerous and ongoing problems in the disability assessment process. These exist because disability is a complex, multi-dimensional concept, which is difficult and expensive to properly assess, especially in a context of high demand and significant resource limitations within the healthcare system.

Community participation of families of children with profound intellectual and multiple disabilities in South Africa

“…The grant is a relatively small amount of ZAR1780 (approx. US$120), and this money is often used to support entire families, thereby not actually being used for disability specific needs (Kelly, 2013). The families in our study were most likely to access the care dependency grant, which is means‐tested according to family income and is intended for children with permanent severe disability who are in family care (SASSA, 2020).…”

(Re)formulating the Social Question in Post-apartheid South Africa: Zola Skweyiya, Dignity, Development and the Welfare State

“…Pensions for the elderly were never really questioned (although the government did resist lowering the age at which men became eligible for old-age pensions). The disability grant became more controversial over time, with ANC MPs voicing concerns that ablebodied people were receiving grants or, even, that they were contracting HIV in order to access grants (Kelly 2013). The most controversial issue, however, was the Child Support Grant, paid mostly to poor mothers.…”

Intellectual disability in South Africa: the possibilities and limits of democratic rights

“…The relatively small amount of ZAR1700 (approx. US$105) often sustains entire families rather than contributing to the disability specific needs of disabled family members (Kelly, 2013).…”