Transcript PowerPoint - Social Protection Platform

A Presentation on South Africa’s Basic
Social Protection Floor
to the Special Event on South-South
Cooperation
United Nations HQ, NYC
2 February 2010
By: Vusi Madonsela
Director General: Department of Social Development, South
Africa
The UN Social Protection Floor
• The UN Social Protection Floor (SPF) Initiative promotes universal
access to essential social transfers and services. More than 75% of the
global population does not enjoy a set of social guarantees that allow
them to deal with life's risks. Ensuring a SPF for people who are
struggling just to survive is a priority. The SPF is more than just a safety
net - it is a beginning, not an end...
• There is strong evidence that confirms that social protection contributes
to economic growth by raising labour productivity and enhancing social
stability. Allocation of resources to SPF is an investment in social justice
and economic development. Ensuring a SPF for the entire world
population presents a considerable challenge, but calculations by
various UN agencies show that a basic floor of social transfers is
globally affordable at virtually any stage of economic development, even
if the funding is not yet available everywhere.
Background
• In 1994, Democratic Government inherited a bankrupt economy, with far in
excess of 50% of the population living in poverty – faced with colossal social
backlogs among the country’s majority.
• Pursuant to the Constitution which guarantees both 1st and 2nd generation
rights, the Government, adopted a broader social protection framework,
which guarantees both social transfers and basic social services.
• To this end Government adopted a three pillar Social Protection Framework
to provide for:
– Pillar 1: Targeted cash transfers for the vulnerable, including subsidized housing,
free healthcare and free basic education for the poor, and a growing list of free
social services. In addition, there is a universal quota of free basic services
(water, electricity and sanitation);
– Pillar 2: Introduction of a mandatory set social insurance schemes for all income
groups up to a threshold, to provide benefits covering specified contingencies;
– Pillar 3: voluntary savings over and above pillar 2 providing top up cover for
pensions, risk benefits and healthcare.
Social Protection measures of the SA
Government
• This presentation will focus on Pillar 1 of South Africa’s Social
Protection Framework, providing a basic SPF as promoted by
the United Nations
• The scope encompasses:
–
–
–
–
–
–
Targeted Social Assistance;
Targeted Free healthcare;
Targeted Free basic education;
Universal Free Basic Services (water, electricity and sanitation);
Public Works Programmes; and
A tapestry of free welfare programmes
Types of Cash Transfers
South Africa provides the following cash transfers:
1.
Old age grant (citizens from 60 years of age - recent age equalisation)
2.
War veterans grant (those who took part in World War II or Korean War)
3.
Disability grant (subject to a medical assessment report confirming disability –
linked to inability to enter the labour market)
4.
Care dependency grant (payable to parents or caregivers of disabled children
between the ages of 1 to 18 – subject to medical assessment report confirming
disability)
5.
Foster care grant (payable to a person accorded foster parent status by a
court of law- providing care and support to a child other than their own)
6.
Child support grant (payable in respect of children from poor families–
payable to caregiver. The child to be under 16 in 2010 – progressive extension to
children under 18 in 2012)
7.
Social relief of distress (payable to any person, other than a beneficiary of all
the above grant types, facing undue hardship – emergency / temporary
benefit)
Trends in number of Social Grant
Beneficiaries
Type of Grant
1999
2002
2005
2008
Older Person’s
1,818,733
2,010,884
2,097,982
2,222,950
2,508,899
War Veteran’s
4,340
3,790
3,340
1,500
1,293
459,880
537,925
1,305,464
1,408,456
1,303,203
Foster Child
65,938
95,216
256,949
454,199
504,666
Care Dependency
22,438
34,978
85,897
102,292
110,359
330,328
1,801,862
5,326,581
8,189,975
9,400,347
37, 772
51, 998
Disability
Child Support Grant
Grant- in-aid
Total
% Growth
-
-
-
Jan-10
2,701,657
4,484,655
9,076,213 12,417,144 13,880,765
Would be great of we can show % growth
66%
102%
37%
12%
Expenditure As % Of GDP
3.50%
3.00%
2.50%
2.00%
1.50%
1.00%
0.50%
0.00%
1999
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004
2005
2006
2007
2008
2009
Expenditure and Impact
•
•
•
Social Grants consume on average 3,4% of the Gross Domestic Product
and about 12% of total government expenditure.
The evidence from micro-simulation confirms the poverty reducing
impacts
 Social Grants are effective in addressing the prevalence of poverty;
 Spending patterns in households that receive social grants are more
focused on basics necessities like food, energy and education.
Developmental Impacts
 Increase school attendance;
 Investment in human capital because of improved school attendance;
 Improve health and nutrition;
 Increase gender equity;
 Promote job searching and labour market participation
Recent expansionary policies




The value of social grants kept up relatively well with the inflation rate safety net will continue to grow over the next few years as a result of
recent policy amendments;
In 2007 the means tests for all the grants were significantly raised - in the
case of the child support grant it was doubled;
The child support grant was extended to cover children up to 15 years at
the beginning of 2009, and at the end of last year, the law was changed
to extend the child benefits, over a three year period, to cover children up
to their 18th birthday
Two years ago, Government decided to gradually equalize the age of
eligibility for the old age grant for men and women. Effective 1 April 2010,
both men and women will qualify from the age of 60.
Health and Education
•
In 1994, Government introduced Free Primary Health care – since built
+700 clinics to deal with supply side challenges;
•
Government provides free health care to pregnant mothers, people with
disabilities, pensioners and the indigent;
•
Lamentably, the impact of HIV and AIDS reversed many of the gains
made in health care, but South Africa now has the world’s biggest antiretroviral programme to respond to the scourge.
•
While for many years, the poor could have fee exemption for schooling,
government more recently introduced a policy of No Fee Schooling for
children in low-income areas
Free Basic Services
•
Free and Subsidized Housing: More than 2.8 million houses have been
built since 1994, providing housing for about 14 million people;
•
Nationally, 85.5% of households in South Africa receive Free Basic
Water (potable) compared to about just over 50% in 1996. It is believed
that SA is the only country in the world that spends more on water than
on arms;
•
Free Basic Electricity of 50KW is provided to all, with the aim of
targeting 3,1 million (i.e. 58%) of designated indigent households
•
Since 1994, over 10 million households have access to sanitation, again
compared to much lower coverage in 1994, the next slide demonstrates
the point.
Overall - there has been significant progress in the delivery of basic
infrastructure and reducing backlogs.
•
Delivery of Sanitation since 1994 to 2009
Delivery Sanitation since 1994-2009
14,000,000
12,000,000
Households
10,000,000
Access
8,000,000
Backlog
6,000,000
No. of Households
4,000,000
2,000,000
0
1994
2001
2009
Access
5,065,626
7,005,212
10,029,435
Backlogs
5,084,852
4,759,709
2,998,779
10,150,478
11,764,921
13,028,214
No. of
Households
Year
It is noteworthy that SA has made considerable progress in delivering
basic infrastructure: and accordingly reduced social infrastructure
backlogs
Expenditure Trends
Department
Health (R Millions)
% Of GDP
Education
% Of GDP
Social Development
% Of GDP
1999
2002
2005
2008
24,110 29,757 40,559 62,582
2.96% 2.55% 2.63% 2.74%
39,828 46,889 64,670 88,377
4.89% 4.01% 4.19% 3.87%
2009
82,359
3.38%
107,550
4.42%
19,374
31,247
50,708
70,918
80,380
2.38%
2.67%
3.28%
3.11%
3.30%
Challenges
• Initially, many conditions were set for accessing social grants, such as
clinic card, school attendance, but the supply side excluded the poorest of
the poor;
• Access to grants in deep rural areas had to be overcome;
• The lack of data to assess coverage at national, regional and local level to
improve targeting;
• Institutional fragmentation; and
• Lack of integrated planning and coordination between government
departments
Lessons learnt
• There is a need to generate data to assess the gaps in coverage in all
spheres of government to improve targeting;
• Access to income support became sine qua non to access health care,
education, housing;
• Detractors argued that social grants may not benefit the poor: our
response was to generate evidence which proved important;
• Arguments about perverse incentives, dependency also required
research disproved by outcomes;
• As Cichon and others pointed out: The myth that there is a negative
trade-of between equity and growth disproved - SA expanded the social
safety net at the same time as it ensured a balanced macro-economic
environment;
• We had the most significant economic growth in decades between 2001
and 2008 at the same time as the beneficiary numbers grew
exponentially.
Regional Initiatives
• Proximity to Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana and Swaziland increased
knowledge sharing and policy transfer; and
• Benchmarking in Latin America includes exchanges with Brazil, Chile
and India - reinforces our fortitude to create better lives for the people of
the South
Conclusion
• SA’s Social Protection Framework was, at design stage, intended to be
broad to address the range of challenges in a multi-pronged manner;
• The growth of the numbers of indigent accessing social grants has been
unprecedented by any standard;
• Cash Transfers, complemented by basic services, including health and
education will, in the fullness of time, brake the cycle of intergenerational transmission of poverty