Family Futures

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Family-oriented policy

Bathabile Olive Dlamini, Minister of Social Development, Republic of South Africa

dvancing

ocial

ntegration

and

ntergenerational

olidarity

ollowing the end of apartheid and the establish-

ment of a new democratic dispensation in 1994, the

post-apartheid South African Government instituted

various policy and legislative reforms aimed at, among other

things, the realignment of the country’s institutions, in order

to transform South African society. However, the family was

not explicitly addressed in many of these policies. Rather, it

was usually inferred and, in consequence, most socioeco-

nomic benefits indirectly filtered down to the family.

Past and present poverty analyses and strategies of intervention

have also primarily concentrated on households, as opposed to

families, thereby causing policies to overlook intrafamily dynam-

ics in the country. It is against the above background that the

absence of an explicit policy framework on the family in South

Africa has, over the years, been identified by government poli-

cymakers, academics, civil society and concerned citizens as a

critical shortcoming that needed to be urgently addressed.

Reducing poverty, unemployment and inequality remain

South Africa’s greatest challenge. Among the major causes

of poverty in the country is lack of or low earned income.

Essentially, employment creation has not transpired at the

anticipated rate, and many people are still unskilled. This

inability of many people to secure employment has led to many

families facing additional burdens, due to limited or no income

to secure family livelihood. This situation continues to place

a huge dependency burden on families. Poverty still reflects

apartheid settlement patterns, and virtually all poor households

are found in the former Bantustans regions, informal settle-

ments and townships. Great inequality income distribution

persists

largely as a result of the reproduction of the disparities

in ownership income, resource skills and other determinants of

people’s capacity to take advantage of opportunities.

As far as poverty is concerned, women endure a dispro-

portionate burden of the outcomes of past policies. Whereas

men worked in various industries during the apartheid era,

many women remained in the rural areas to look after family

members. Historically, women received income primarily in

the form of remittance from their spouses. Cultural practices

such as patriarchy also reinforced the exclusion of women

from economic activities.

The gender division of labour continues to influence the

way families function. Women typically assume more house-

hold responsibilities, spend a larger portion of their time on

unpaid care work than men, and make up a greater proportion

of discouraged work seekers.

Child poverty is another particularly worrisome trend in South

Africa, and is a direct consequence of family disintegration.

A report of which analyses the 2005/2006 income and expendi-

ture survey by Statistics South Africa was able to paint a clearer

picture of this phenomenon.

According to the report, child

poverty peaked at 65.5 per cent and remains more extensive

than poverty among adults (45.2 per cent), thereby confirming

that there is greater incidence of children in poorer households.

The country’s response to confront family poverty was to

develop a White Paper on Families which is a family-focused

policy. The intention of the white paper is to make a significant

contribution to the fight against poverty which affects millions of

SouthAfricans, including children, youth, families, women, people

with disabilities and older persons. Furthermore a comprehensive

social security programme such as child support grants, foster care

grants, housing assistance and tax breaks, serves as a protective

measure for families in need. In addition, short-term interventions

such as an extended public works programme, community works

programme, income generation project and women’s cooperative

projects are being implemented by government to address the

socioeconomic state of the families in South Africa.

Ensuring work-family balance

Women are the primary providers of care and have been

entering the labour force in greater numbers, hence the need

Image: Department of Social Development, South Africa

The South African Government has intensified the Early Childhood

Development programme to support mothers