In the past families, societies and communities always had their own way of support. African people
relied on kinship-based support from the family, community or clan.
Families were responsible for the economic and social support of their individual members. Members of
a family who could not partake in survival activities such as farming and hunting received sUpport from
their family. This form of support also extended to the community or clan at large. As time went by,
these methods of support were influenced by Western forms of support which were introduced after
colonisation.
Unfortunately it brought a social welfare system characterised by racial discrimination and welfare
policies that favoured only whites this is the reason why, democratic government inherited social
security system which reflects elements of western culture and social values when it took over from the
apartheid regime. One of the big contributors to this change was the migration of many black people
from rural areas to cities in search of jobs mostly in the mines.
Therefore, industrialisation and urbanisation contributed to high levels of poverty in rural areas where
kinship system was badly affected because people, especially strong and young men, left their rural
homes and moved to cities in search of jobs in factories and mines. Separate departments were
established to serve the four racial groups, namely whites, blacks, Indians and coloureds. Each of the
former homelands had its own. department of Social welfare even though there were instances where
such a department formed part of the larger combined South Africa department of health and welfare.
The birth of democracy in this country in this country not only marked the end of apartheid and its
discrimination laws and policies, but also brought about important changes in how social security is
provided in South Africa. Social security is now recognised as a fundamental right in section 27 of the bill
of rights
1.2 social security is primarily concerned with providing a safety-net for members of social against
economic and social hardships. It consists of, among other things, social assistance, social insurance,
social relief, social up lift and social compensation. Different countries understand this concept
differently. A number of factors play a huge role in shaping particular country’s approach to social
security. These factors include cultural historical, political and economic needs.
South Africa has inherited a social security system that is remarkably comprehensive for middle-income,
developing country. A closer look at the system confirms that the system suffers from many deficiencies.
The exclusionary nature of the system is specially important. The level of benefits provided by various
grants remain low and the grants are insufficient to address the considerable extent of poverty in the
country.
Social insurance is designed to address the typical ILO risks. It can therefore be said that the system
follows a risk-based approach, which is one of the shortcomings of the present social security system.
The risk-based approach is too limited to apply in a developing country like South Africa, where other
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