Abstract
This chapter examines the rationale for an overhaul of the system of social security in South Africa, and takes account of long-term social and economic factors resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic. The COVID-19 pandemic shone a spotlight to South Africa’s lack of a comprehensive social security system. It argues that government’s responses during the pandemic have been inadequate. Further, it is essential that the government implements support measures to keep employees in their jobs, or to provide temporary relief. In addition, the government should put in place registration processes that do not just cover beneficiaries but also contributors. The core argument of the chapter is that South Africa needs to prioritize the design and implementation of a comprehensive system of social security. It sets out several recommendations on how the country’s fragmented institutions could be reconfigured to ensure that they provide better service to the public, and those who need social security and protection the most.
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Notes
- 1.
These can involve co-contributions by an income earner, an employer, and even government. The contribution would be proportional to income, with benefits that can also vary to a degree by income.
- 2.
This is consistent with the Constitutional Court’s understanding that a distinction should be made between the right of “access to adequate housing” and the right “to adequate housing.” Whereas the latter may refer to an obligation to provide housing, the former requires that the enabling conditions be established for people to buy their own houses. “The state must create the conditions for access to adequate housing for people at all economic levels of society” (Constitutional Court of South Africa 2000, par 35).
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van den Heever, A. (2022). Social Security and Social Protection in South Africa. In: Qobo, M., Soko, M., Xenia Ngwenya, N. (eds) The Future of the South African Political Economy Post-COVID 19. International Political Economy Series. Palgrave Macmillan, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-10576-0_7
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