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The department of social development says that while the government is fighting fraud and waste in the social grant system, the exercise is aimed at enhancing efficiency and increasing grant access to those who need it most.
The department told TimesLIVE that social assistance is not only an economic intervention but also a public mental health strategy, protecting the poorest households from the compounded effects of poverty and psychological distress.
“Nevertheless, there remains scope to deepen the evidence base through future studies that examine the broader developmental and psychosocial impacts of social assistance. Such research would not only strengthen policy design but also improve access to the programme, ensuring that it continues to evolve as a cornerstone of South Africa’s social protection system.”
The department has undertaken grant provision interventions aimed at cutting waste and fraud, supported by the Treasury’s Targeted and Responsible Savings (Tars) system.
However, academics and NGOs have warned that restrictions to grant access in SA, particularly the child support grant, have proven detrimental to the mental health of adolescents.
A recent paper by the department of economics at the University of Stellenbosch and the Erasmus School of Health Policy & Management at Erasmus University titled, “The mental health impact for adolescents ageing out of South Africa’s child support grant,” found evidence that the cessation of the child support grant increases depressive symptoms in adolescents.
SA’s extensive social aid
The social development department provides the most extensive system of social assistance in the world, including grants for children, persons with disabilities, older people and the Covid-19 social relief of distress (SRD) grant.
Most grants are concentrated among households in the lowest income brackets, ensuring that scarce public resources are directed to those who need them most. The department said “a substantial body of evidence” has identified the positive effects of the social assistance programme.
“Evidence shows that programmes such as the Child Support Grant (CSG) and the Older Person’s Grant reach the poorest 40% of households, thereby reducing poverty and inequality in a measurable way. Evidence shows that South Africa’s social grants are well targeted and have a measurable positive impact: they reduce poverty, improve education outcomes, strengthen household food security, and promote economic inclusion,” the department said.
Today, more than 18-million South Africans benefit from social grants and more than seven-million from SRD, with the majority concentrated among the poorest households.
The department said it has not conducted a study exclusively on the effects of social grants on mental health, except the conclusion drawn from the CSG impact study that was conducted in 2010.
“What is clear from international and local studies is that poverty and mental health are deeply linked. Individuals living in poverty face constant stressors such as food insecurity, unemployment, inadequate housing and limited access to healthcare. These daily struggles heighten vulnerability to depression and anxiety.”
Stronger compliance conditions have been placed on the South Africa Social Security Agency’s operating budget, prompting strict verification and surveillance protocols from the agency, according to the Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ).
IEJ senior researcher Kelle Howson said that due to an increasingly restrictive approach to social spending, the social development department underspent on grants by R4.8bn over the past year.
TimesLIVE
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