International migration and social welfare policies: Assessing the effect of government grants on the livelihoods of migrants in Cape Town, South Africa
Year: 2021
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: South Africa is paradoxically an interesting case study.On the one hand, it is characterised by widespread and persistent poverty and extra-ordinary levels of unemployment.On the other hand, South Africa is quintessentially a migration destination country, ranking among countries with the highest number of migrants from other African countries.While it currently hosts more than three million international migrants, which represents approximately 4.2% of the country's entire population, nearly half of the South African black population live in poverty and grapple with income inequality, unemployment, food insecurity and hunger.Much like their South African counterparts, international migrants are not immune to the conundrum of poverty.Added to the poverty-related social challenges that confront the natives of South Africa, foreign nationals in South Africa endure the migration-specific risks, shocks, hardships, deprivation and vulnerabilities.Social assistance grants are one of the South African government's instruments used to tackle poverty problems in the destitute, vulnerable and marginal households.At the onset, government grants were restricted only to the citizens of South Africa, but were later scaled up to include migrants with permanent residence.In 2012, the Minister of Social Development promulgated amendments to the legislation that permitted recognised refugees meeting the legislated criteria and other accompanying regulations as set out by the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) to claim some social grants.Despite the changes and amendments to the legislation, both migrants and South African citizens still face predicaments when applying for and accessing social grants.Therefore, this study principally sought to find the answers to the following questions: Who are the migrant households that receive social grants in South Africa?What type of grants are awarded and how do they sustain livelihoods?What are the challenges and problems?What should be done to improve the situation?This study is deep-rooted within the human rights-based approach and underpinned by Rawls' theory of social justice and the conceptual framework of sustainable livelihood.It used hybrid forms of quantitative and qualitative approaches.A total of 103 survey questionnaires were administered to the household-heads, selected by using an adaptive cluster sampling (ACS) method.Five representatives from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) that provide services to migrants were purposively selected and interviewed.A focus group discussion (FGD) was held with 12 selected members from the migrant households that receive social grants.
Author: Jonas Nzabamwita
Language: English
Subfield: Law
Field: Social Sciences
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W3194275232