Question NW1753 to the Minister of Social Development
30 May 2022 - NW1753
Abrahams, Ms ALA to ask the Minister of Social Development
With the issue of abuse of the child support grant being prevalent throughout the provincial public hearings on the Children’s Amendment Bill, [B18-2020] and community members repeatedly indicating that the child support grant is often not used on the care of the child, but rather to purchase drugs and/or alcohol by the caregiver , but that this abuse is often not reported to the SA Police Service and the SA Social Security Agency (SASSA) and therefore goes undetected by the relevant authorities, how does (a) her department and (b) SASSA plan to ensure that the child support grant is in fact used for the child’s basic needs considering conditions such as school attendance and clinic visits are not applicable, enforced and/or monitored by SASSA and other government officials?
Reply:
Anecdotal evidence often indicates that the Child Support Grant (CSG) may be abused by a few members within society, however research has shown, that in the vast majority caregivers generally prioritise the needs of their children. It is thus important for government not to over burden the poor, mainly women, who are doing an excellent task of taking care of their children with the very limited resources at their disposal.
Because CSG applies “follow the child” principle, the grant is allocated to the caregiver who is actually taking care of the child (which may not necessarily be the biological parent). This incentivises the actual caregiver of the child to apply for the grant, if the child is not being cared for by the biological parent. In such cases, SASSA will assess, often with the support of local social workers, who is responsible for the care of the child, and pay the grant accordingly.
Raising a child is a community effort, and neither DSD, SASSA nor government, on its own, can be responsible solely for a child’s wellbeing. The reporting of child neglect, and in particular, child abuse is mandatory for professionals (such as health practitioners, teachers, ministers, etc), and encouraged for other citizens and community members in terms of section 110 (1) and (2) of the Children’s Act (Act 38 of 2005). It is thus the duty of Members of Parliament to not only listen to community complaints about child neglect and abuse, but to actively record these and facilitate reporting to the relevant authorities.