Evaluating South Africa's child-support grant policy : the case of beneficiaries in Mamelodi concerning grant value and basic needs

Abstract

The main objective of this study was to conduct an outcomes-based evaluation on the child-support grant (CSG) policy in South Africa from when it was implemented in 1998 until the present. The sub-objectives of the research study were to determine whether the child-support grant alleviated child poverty, to identify the difference or the impact that the child-support grant had on the lives of beneficiaries and to investigate the challenges associated with the child-support grant. To achieve the study’s objectives, the research was descriptive in nature and made use of a mixed methods research design, including administering an online survey to CSG caregivers who resided in a township called Mamelodi in the Gauteng Province, as well as interviewing key informants at the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) local office in Mamelodi. The primary data collected in the study was complemented by content analysis, including a literature review, annual reports, and government publications. The Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) was used when analysing the results from the survey and those from the interview were analysed using thematic analysis. Following data collection and analysis, the study found that the CSG does in fact alleviate poverty. Furthermore, the study found that the CSG had positive effects on children’s health and their schooling. It was also found that the grant provided a sense of empowerment to women. However, the study also found that the grant was associated with challenges such as its inadequate value, discouraging caregivers from finding employment, contribution to childbearing, misuse of the grant and administrative and access issues. One of the limitations to this study was a language barrier. Some of the participants did not understand some of the questions that were posed. This was evident in a few of the responses provided. Furthermore, the Coronavirus (Covid-19) pandemic presented another limitation in that physical contact was restricted by the government in order to promote social distancing; thus remote data-collection methods were considered. Lastly, the study was limited to the CSG beneficiaries who resided in Mamelodi, as well as SASSA staff employed at the local office in Mamelodi. Finally, the implications of this study are that the administration of the child-support grant must be improved by SASSA in order to address administrative issues confronting both the beneficiaries as well as the SASSA staff. Furthermore, the study includes implications that the Social Assistance Act 13 of 2004 must be strengthened to provide for stricter sanctions on those who have been found to misuse the CSG. The study contributes to the body of knowledge within the sub-area of public policy in the discipline of public administration and management.