Exploration of the child support grant in a community of the North West Province

Abstract

The child support grant (hereafter referred to as CSG) in South Africa was implement in 1998 to fight child poverty. The CSG came after the state maintenance grant (SMG) was repelled, because it (SMG) only benefited certain races. Section 27(c) of the Constitution of the Republic of South Africa, 1996 states that everyone has the right to have access to social security and appropriate social assistance including those who are unable to support themselves and their dependents. This study was undertaken to explore the CSG in the community of the North West Province. The study was necessary because CSG is meant to support children who are disadvantaged to improve their living conditions. Poverty affects vulnerable people. These people are often children, disabled people, the old and women, especially those who are single parents. The South African democratic government assists disadvantaged citizens with eight different social grants to assist those who cannot provide for themselves and their families. From these social grants, only the CSG was investigated in this study. The study employed a mixed-methods approach to collect qualitative and quantitative data. An exploratory research design was used to better comprehend CSG policy and its contribution to the beneficiaries. Semi-structured questionnaires were used to conduct semi-structured interviews with the sampled primary caregivers of CSG and social workers (study participants). The sampled participants provided insights into how CSG reduces poverty, determines the basic needs of beneficiaries covered by CSG, as well as determines the effectiveness of the criteria used by the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) to select primary caregivers who qualify for the grant. The findings of the study revealed that CSG plays a fundamental role to beneficiaries and the whole family. It often assists in buying groceries and payment of the educational needs of the CSG’s beneficiaries. One of the recommendations produced by the conducted study is the increment of the amount of CSG beyond its annual increase of ten rands (R10) as well as reducing the dependency on the government by primary caregivers through adopting a system where primary caregivers work for the grant.