Download Core challenges facing social security in South Africa

Core challenges facing social
security in South Africa
Parliamentary briefing
Prof Marius Olivier, UJ
Prof Evance Kalula, UCT
18 August 2006
Introduction
• Three areas for discussion:
– Impact of constitutional framework
– Coverage and exclusion
– International and regional standards
Impact of constitutional framework
• Section 27(1)(c)
– “Everyone“ – see Khosa case and
constitutional emphasis on vulnerable people
– “Access to“ – other elements ensuring dignity
of people and quality of life must be in place
too
– Right to access to social assistance:
• “Unable to support ….“
• “Dependants“
• “Appropriate social assistance"
Impact of constitutional framework
(continued)
• Section 27(2)
– State obligation
– Three qualifications:
• Reasonable measures
• Within available resources
• Progressive realisation
Impact of constitutional framework
(continued)
• Implications and challenges
– A comprehensive and integrated approach is required
– There is a need for a policy-based programme and
legislative implementation
– A range for reasonable measures are at the disposal
of government and the legislature
– Sufficient budgetary support is required
– There is a constitutional focus on vulnerable groups
– Retrogressive measures are inadvisable
Coverage and exclusion
• Social insurance
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–
–
–
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–
–
Forms of social insurance in SA
Largely formal employment-based
Certain workers specifically excluded
Absence of public health and retirement schemes
Absence in some cases of a statutory compulsion to
participate
Not properly aligned with social assistance
Prevention and (re)integration weak: focus is on
compensation/benefits
Tax advantages and subsidies
Adequacy of benefits?
Coverage and exclusion
(continued)
• Social insurance (continued)
– Who are excluded?
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•
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The unemployed
Lower paid wage workers
Informally employed workers
Atypically employed workers
Rural, gender and African dimensions
Coverage and exclusion
(continued)
• Social assistance
– Reach and impact of social assistance
• 11 million beneficiaries
• Major direct impact
• Important indirect/distributional impact
Coverage and exclusion
(continued)
• Social assistance (continued)
– Coverage and exclusion in social assistance:
•
•
•
•
Categorical nature of system
Means testing
Citizenship requirement
Thus excluded are:
– Able-bodied persons who are not old, young or disabled
enough to qualify for a grant (except temporary social
relief)
– Non-citizens
Coverage and exclusion
(continued)
• Social assistance (continued)
– Lack of access to social assistance:
• Service delivery problems
• Non-compliance with administrative justice
requirements
• Dispute resolution: system of adjudication
insufficient; lack of regular tribunal system
Coverage and exclusion
(continued)
• What needs to/could be done?
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–
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Develop a comprehensive framework
Adopt holistic and integrated approaches
Remove unnecessary exclusions
Extend reach of existing social insurance schemes
Introduce relevant public schemes with extensive
coverage
– Introduce compulsion to participate
– Introduce preventative and reintegrative elements and
link these with compensation measures and with
structure and funding of system
– Remove/channel of tax advances and subsidies in
order to strengthen solidarity in social security system
Coverage and exclusion
(continued)
• What needs to/could be done? (continued)
– Social assistance:
• Review of grants types
• Review of grants entitlement criteria and related
issues
• Consider removal of means testing and, where this
is to remain, consider standardising same
Coverage and exclusion
(continued)
• What needs to/could be done? (continued)
– Introduce an appropriate alternative external
adjudication/dispute resolution framework
– Align position of non-citizens with international
law and constitutional requirements
– Recognise and where relevant, align informal
social security frameworks with formal social
security system
Coverage and exclusion
(continued)
• What needs to/could be done? (continued)
– Develop special arrangements for informal
economy workers:
• Voluntary participation in social insurance
schemes?
• Consider comparative experiences (e.g. India and
Tanzania)
– Welfare funds
– Develop and/or recognise existing sector-/group-based
specific social insurance arrangements
– Framework arrangements for unorganised (including
informal economy) workers: Government co-contribution
International and regional
standards
• Importance of standards
• International standards
– What is covered?
– Important international instruments:
• UN: e.g., International Covenant on Economic,
Social and Cultural Rights (ICESCR), migrants and
refugee Conventions
• ILO: Convention 102/1952; branch specific
Conventions; migrants and refugee Conventions
International and regional
standards (continued)
• International standards (continued)
– Position in South Africa:
• Except for OHS, no post World War II ILO social
security Convention ratified
• Non-compliance with certain ratified and nonratified Conventions: ILO requests for clarification
• ICESCR not yet ratified
• Insufficient compliance with migrants and refugees
Conventions
International and regional
standards (continued)
• Regional standards
– Regional instruments
• SADC Treaty
• Social Charter (Charter of Fundamental Social
Rights)
• Draft Code on Social Security
• Draft Protocol on the Facilitation of the Movement
of Persons
– Regional structures/institutional framework
International and regional
standards (continued)
• The need for proper co-ordination of social
security, in particular when people migrate
– Usually: bilateral and/or multilateral
arrangements
– What is covered:
•
•
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Equality of treatment
Maintenance of acquired rights
Aggregation of insurance periods
Exportability of benefits
– South Africa: only limited arrangements
Conclusions
• Need for comprehensive, co-ordinated and
integrated system
• Need to properly extend coverage
• Need to align SA social security with
international and regional standards
• Need to develop appropriate co-ordination
mechanisms