Assets, cash transfers and urban livelihoods in South Africa

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Chibuikem Nnaeme ◽  
Leila Patel ◽  
Sophie Plagerson
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
Urban Livelihoods

scholarly journals Is there a rationale for conditional cash transfers for children in South Africa?

2009 ◽  
Vol 70 (1) ◽  
pp. 70-91 ◽  
Author(s):  
Francie Lund ◽  
Michael Noble ◽  
Helen Barnes ◽  
Gemma Wright
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
Conditional Cash Transfers

scholarly journals Socially Embedded Character of Informal Channels of Remittances: ‘Omalayisha’ in the South Africa/Zimbabwe Remittance Corridor

2017 ◽  
Vol 2 (1) ◽  
pp. 5-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Vusilizwe Thebe ◽  
Sara Mutyatyu
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Community Relations ◽  
The South ◽  
Strategic Networks ◽  
African Cities ◽  
Urban Livelihoods ◽  
Historical Movement ◽  
South African Cities ◽  
Peasant Economy

In this article, we cast some doubts on contemporary initiatives to formalise remittance channels by focusing on particular dynamics of the informal ‘malayisha’ system on the South Africa/Zimbabwe remittance corridor. We stress the socially embedded character of ‘omalayisha’ in some rural societies by demonstrating that the system is built on strong social and community relations of friendship, neighbourhood, kinship and referrals, and the development of strategic networks of state officials. We also seek to draw parallels between the historical movement of remittances from the cities to rural societies and the contemporary system of ‘omalayisha’. Our argument suggest that ‘omalayisha’ are inherently part of the contemporary worker-peasant economy after the relocation and expansion of urban livelihoods to South African cities, and that their position in these societies extends beyond mere labour reproduction to accumulation and survival questions.

Labour, laziness and distribution: work imaginaries among the South African unemployed

Africa ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 90 (2) ◽  
pp. 229-251 ◽  
Author(s):  
H. J. Dawson ◽  
E. Fouksman
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
South African ◽  
Informal Settlement ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
Labour Markets ◽  
Ethnographic Research ◽  
Basic Income ◽  
Social Imaginaries ◽  
Unconditional Cash Transfers ◽  
The Unemployed

AbstractA wealth of new writing has emerged around the future of labour, focusing on thinking beyond employment in imagining the futures of ‘surplus populations’ no longer needed by labour markets. These new imaginaries include radically expanded forms of redistribution, such as unconditional cash transfers or universal basic income. But what are the views of the ‘surplus populations’ themselves? This article uses ethnographic research in an informal settlement in South Africa to understand why the unemployed or precariously employed poor are themselves often reluctant to delink labour and income. In particular, we focus on the discursive use of ‘laziness’ by urban unemployed young men. The varied (and often contradictory) ways in which these men employ the laziness discourse sheds light on the logics linking waged work and money in our informants’ social imaginaries. It illuminates the underlying contradictions and complexities of such logics, including those of gender, relational obligations, expectations of citizenship, and the inevitable tensions between aspirational hopes and economic realities. To begin thinking ‘beyond the proper job’, to use Ferguson and Li's phrase, we must unravel and understand such nuanced logics that continue to bind together hard work, deservingness and cash – even for those left out of labour markets.

Child Support Grants in South Africa: A Pathway to Women's Empowerment and Child Well-being?

2015 ◽  
Vol 44 (2) ◽  
pp. 377-397 ◽  
Author(s):  
LEILA PATEL ◽  
TRUDIE KNIJN ◽  
FRITS VAN WEL
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Child Support ◽  
Social Protection ◽  
Women's Empowerment ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
Cash Transfer ◽  
Women’S Empowerment ◽  
Care Givers

AbstractDespite the growth of cash transfers to reduce poverty, promote child and family well-being and women's empowerment, the gender dynamics and impact of social protection remains poorly understood. We hypothesise that poor female care-givers receiving a cash transfer for their children are better able to contribute to the material and social well-being of their children than female care-givers who do not receive a cash transfer. This paper reports results of a household survey in one of the poorest wards in Johannesburg, South Africa. Structural equation modelling is used to analyse the data. We found that cash transfers increase women's individual income, which is in turn positively associated with increased financial independence, decision-making power over financial resources and decisions about children's well-being. Beneficiaries were more actively engaged in care activities with their children. There are two implications for the insertion of gender and care into social protection policies. First that it is not necessary to attach behavioural change conditions to social protection policies in order to stimulate female care-givers to be more engaged in developmental activities with their children. Second, there is no risk of promoting a maternalistic model of care or ‘maternalism’ in the South African context as the transfer contributes to both women's individual incomes and their financial decision-making power.

Disability, cash transfers and family practices in South Africa

2019 ◽  
Vol 39 (4) ◽  
pp. 541-559
Author(s):  
Gabrielle Kelly
Keyword(s):  
South Africa ◽  
People With Disabilities ◽  
Cash Transfers ◽  
Ethnographic Study ◽  
Household Composition ◽  
Household Dynamics ◽  
Family Practices ◽  
Care Outcomes ◽  
Disability Grant ◽  
Household Members

Relative to other low and middle-income countries, South Africa provides a generous set of cash transfers (social grants) targeted at people with disabilities. This article explores the influence of disability-related grants on family practices and configurations, care arrangements and household composition in the Western Province of South Africa. The article draws on the findings of two studies: 1) an ethnographic study of disability grant recipients and applicants in a low-income Cape Town community and; 2) a study of interactions between healthcare staff, disability grant applicants and their families. Findings show that disability grant income is shared within households and the contribution of a stable income provides opportunities for people with disabilities to exercise agency, be seen as valuable household members and secure care and support from other household members. However, conflicts may arise over how income is shared and may lead to the extortion, abuse and neglect of people with disabilities, particularly in cases of severe disablement. Given the lack of adequate social provisioning for those who are able-bodied and unemployed, disability also becomes highly valued in households and the potential suspension or cancellation of a grant can interfere with adherence to treatment. The study emphasises the influence of policy structures and economic conditions on household dynamics and care outcomes and contributes to the sparse international evidence-base on the role that disability welfare benefits play in household dynamics and care outcomes.

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