Validity of claims of a dependency syndrome amongst black South Africans: social grant recipients in Bophelong and its informal settlements

A report on a research study presented to The Department of Social Work School of Human and Community Development Faculty of Humanities University of the Witwatersrand In partial fulfilment of the requirements For the degree Master of Arts in Social Work March, 2015More than R3 billion per month is spent on social grants in South Africa and yet the country is characterized by poverty and underdevelopment challenges, especially in rural areas and informal settlements. Against this background the study intended to investigate abound negative discourses regarding dependency syndrome in social grants recipients including the role of social security in poverty alleviation. Two primary discourses, among adversaries and proponents of social security were explored. The first being that of neo-liberal or conservative views that social welfare perpetuates poverty by creating dependence on the state. The second discourse in contrast, argues that social welfare has as its fundamental goal, the bridging of the poverty gap between the ‘haves’ and the ‘have nots’, offers protection and prevents further deepening of poverty. The study was qualitative in nature and employed a case study approach. The sample was drawn from recipients of both Child Support Grant (CSG) and Disability Grant (DG) recipients in Bophelong and its informal settlements. Eight CSG recipients were recruited from the informal settlements through snow ball selection and 10 DG recipients were solicited both through purposive and snow ball sampling. The participants were interviewed individually in order to explore their views of the role of social security in their survival and in their lives. Research findings from this study revealed that social grants have become the main household income in many families thus, partly contributing to the fight against poverty. The results further indicated that lack of job opportunities and not an inherent dependency serves as the main cause for social grant recipients being unemployed. The conclusion reached from the study is that the practical implementation of the developmental model is lagging behind consequently the grant money is used as an end in itself and not as a means to an end