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2008 SERIES

EPISODE 15 - Social Grants

The TeamAdolescents & ARVsHerpes & HIVCelebrities & HIVSero-disordant coupleRelationships & sex Breast, bottle or cup?VCTHate crimesMDR & XDR TBCircumcisionGender violenceInfants on ARVsSexual negotiationsSocial grantsCervical cancerSubstance abusePMTCTFarm workers & HIVPEPTeen pregnancyDisclosureNSPStigma and predjudiceWater and sanitationHuman rights

Finally our lives are in our hands

Sinethemba with his brother and niece

In this episode of Siyayinqoba Beat It! we discuss the new Children's Act and social grants.  Passed recently, the law enables children to make life decisions without parental consent such as testing for HIV and buying contraceptives over the counter.

The Foster Care and Child Support grants are also under scrutiny from our Support Group as we examine the circumstances under which they are given. Joining the support group discussion is Zukile Kani from the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA).

Our first insert follows Sinethemba, a child and orphan in the Eastern Cape who looks after his sibling, Khayalethu, and his niece, Esethu.  We see how their entire world was turned upside down after their parents' deaths and Sinethemba explains how he couldn't access a social grant because he didn't have all the necessary documentation.

The family's situation is clearly a precarious one because as youngsters the children do not have the guidance necessary to show them how the system works.  Visibly moved by Sinethemba's story, back in the studio, the support group discusses the process of acquiring a grant with Zukile who explains a new system, which should allow for social grants to be implemented within two weeks of application.  He also explains the various grants available to children depending on their needs.

Our next story is from KwaZulu-Natal where we examine the possibility of older siblings adopting their younger siblings.  We meet Ncami who lost her mother to HIV and was forced to drop out of school.  We follow Ncami as she goes through the process of adopting her siblings and applying for Foster Care grants to help her better care for them.  Back in the Support Group, Zukile explains the various requirements for accessing a grant.

New Brighton in the Eastern Cape, our next stop, is where we meet up with Siphosethu - an orphan living with HIV - who has been adopted. This is the second time in this current series that we meet up with this brave HIV positive 11 year old. After speaking to his caring and supportive adoptive mother about the challenges she faces financially, the differences between foster care and adoption is explained back in the studio.

It is good to see that the government has realised the problems South Africa's 1.3 million orphans face and are taking steps to remedy their problems. By allowing 18 year old orphans to adopt their younger siblings government assists families to stay together and to access the grants that will make life easier. The next logical step for government to ensure that children in our communities grow up safe and secure would be to extend the Child Support Grant to cover children up to the age of 18 from the current cut-off age of 14. The social grant system is an attempt to provide a safety net for poor people and its continued roll-out ensures social cohesion in all our communities.

IT'S A FACT

Ncamsile dressing her sibling

Ncamsile and her daughter

Nomvuso - Siphosethu's adoptive mother crying

Young Siphosethu in a photo with his deceased mother

 In April 2008, South Africa's official unemployment rate was at 23%, equal to 4 million people.
The official measure of unemployment excludes 4 million people who are considered "discouraged work seekers" (those not looking for work at all, but eligible for employment).  In reality, there are over 8 million people unemployed. This also excludes many people in the informal sector living on less than R1000 a month.
There can be no safety or security in South Africa with so many people on the extreme margins of society.
The social grant system is an attempt to provide a safety net for poor people.
Social grant provision is the government's biggest poverty relief program which is benefiting 12.4 million people at a cost of R75.3 billion in 2008/2009.
The most common grant is the child support grant. This grant is R220 per month. It is available for children up to 14 years of age and is expected to be raised to 18 years of age soon. This grant is only available to people earning R2100 or less a month in both urban and rural areas.
The foster care grant is to pay for the maintenance of children placed in the care of foster parents. This grant is particularly important to AIDS orphans. The grant is R450 per month.
The care dependency grant is to pay a caregiver who has to stay at home to look after an ill child. This grant is R700 per month. The need to remain home to look after the child has to be medically certified.
All of these grants require official documentation such as I.D. documents, birth certificates and death certificates.  However many people that require these grants are unable to provide this information. The government has recently announced that people without documents can have a sworn affidavit made by someone who knows them like a teacher or priest certifying their age and identity. Such affidavits must be sworn before a registered commissioner of oaths, such as a policeman.
Amendments to the Children's Act now make it possible for young people over 18 years of age to foster their younger brothers and sisters, in the death of their parents.