South Africa’s Child Support Grant and the dignity of female caregivers

Abstract

The Child Support Grant (CSG) is social assistance for children with low income caregivers. It is currently paid at the rate of R310 per month and there are more than 11 million child beneficiaries. Almost all (98%) of the caregivers are female. The CSG is administered by the South African Social Security Agency (http://www.sassa.gov.za). Qualifying requirements include: the primary caregiver must be a South African citizen, permanent resident or refugee; their income (and the income of their spouse if they have one) must fall below the means test threshold; the child/children must be under 18 years; children aged between 7 and 18 years must attend school; and both the applicant and the child must reside in South Africa. The caregiver and child need to register biometrically with SASSA: finger-prints are captured along with a voice recording and a photograph.