Special report on a decade of democracy - poverty alleviation

Jobs and crime are the big election issues for South Africans going to the polls on Wednesday, judging by the promises made in the campaign posters that jostle for attention from almost every lamp post and available wall. But whether it is the pledge of a "people's contract" on employment, or 150,000 new police officers on the streets, the underlying issue over the past decade of democracy - and arguably its future challenge - is the extent to which poverty has been eased for the vast majority of South Africans. According to a government report, "Towards a 10-Year Review", there can be no useful comparison with indicators before 1994, when apartheid denied black people the vote, and made "social exclusion and the neglect of the majority a matter of state policy". Instead, the government points to its record over the past decade of transforming South Africa by rolling out basic social services and alleviating the poverty of the most needy members of society. In 1994 social grants totalling R10 billion (US $2.8 billion) were distributed to 2.6 million people. In 2003 R34 billion {US $4.8 billion) in payments were made to 6.8 million recipients, including the aged, young children in poor households, and people with disabilities. Six million people received housing between 1994 and 2003, and more than 70 percent of households now have access to electricity, compared to 30 percent in 1996. POVERTY CHALLENGE REMAINS Impressive as these achievements have been in quantitative terms, there remains a significant underclass in South Africa that has failed to benefit from the transformation. "It's been a very complex transition that is leaning towards positive outcomes, but there are pockets [in society] that have been further displaced, especially the rural poor," Meshack Khosa, director for the Centre for African Research and Transformation told IRIN. According to Statistics South Africa, a government department, approximately 28 percent of households were living below the poverty line in 1995. Four years later that percentage had increased to just under 33 percent. The government's response has been two-fold: an expanded income grant system, and a public works programme. Two-thirds of the income of the poorest South Africans are due to state transfers, the government's 10-year review claimed. It quoted simulation studies that showed poverty would be much greater if it were not for social grants, but also recognised that a significant number of the poor do not access their entitlements. Despite government attempts to improve grant distribution, a lack of documentation, particularly in the rural areas, means that the uptake of some grants is far lower than it should be. "Quite an alarming number of households are workless and have fallen through the social assistance net - they are not receiving any assistance," said Ben Roberts of the Southern African Regional Poverty Network. UNEMPLOYMENT STUBBORNLY HIGH Closely linked to poverty is South Africa's high unemployment rate. Between 1995 and 2002 the number of people classified as unemployed, according to the narrow definition of those actively seeking work, had risen from just over 1.9 million to over 4.2 million - an increase of over 2.3 million. The department of labour says the national official unemployment average is 30.5 percent or 4.8 million people. However, the department uses a strict definition for "unemployed", which independent researchers have disputed, and some have pegged the general unemployment figure as high as 40 percent. The highest incidence of joblessness is found among rural black women, with more than 47 percent out of work, according to a 2003 report, "Employment and Labour Market Trends". "More than 50 percent of South Africans are under the age of 25, and of those who are unemployed, 75 percent are young - you can see we are heading for a crisis," commented Khosa. The government's response has been to expand its public works programme, which has employed a total of 124,808 people since 1998. However, the nature of the work is temporary, with just over 3,400 permanent jobs created from 1999 to 2002. Roberts believes that the nature of poverty in South Africa has been misunderstood, and "the government needs to develop a more nuanced approach", which recognises that "while there is a group of structurally impoverished households, there is quite a number that moves in and out of poverty". Policy initiatives should, therefore, be flexible. But instead, according to Roberts, the government "has been close minded and out of touch", and has stuck with its public works programmes. Tied to the disappointing results of job creation over the decade has been sluggish growth of the economy. While the government touts the macroeconomic stability it has achieved, it has acknowledged that the annual average growth rate of 2.8 percent has been "mediocre". Part of the problem, according to Khosa, has been the education system. The equation of "school plus decent grades equals a job" no longer applies, with the labour market unable to absorb the numbers of new entrants. The government has responded with skills training programmes, but the impact of that initiative will not be immediately evident. What is also needed is a "culture of entrepreneurs", said Khosa. SOCIAL SERVICE DELIVERY - THE EXAMPLE OF WATER The provision of clean water and sanitation has been a key government policy, especially as much of the burden of inadequate water supply falls on rural women, and is a factor in their continued poverty. "Overall there has been quite an improvement over people's access to clean drinking water," said Dave Hempson of the Human Sciences Research Council. "The government has made quite an effort to set up a dedicated department of water affairs to serve the needs of the rural poor." Between 1994 and 2001 some 8 million people were provided with water for the first time. But a backlog remains of 7 million people still without access, and to reach them would require R360 million (US $55 million) in spending each year, according to a report by the Centre for Policy Studies authored by Khosa. In 2001 a free water policy geared to poverty alleviation was launched, allowing households 6,000 litres of water per month - enough for about 40 baths. But that was linked to a strict cost-recovery programme aimed at ensuring that customers paid for all water used over the 6,000 litre threshold. Hempson noted that where water was unregulated, average consumption was around 2,400 litres per family per month. Poverty has undermined people's ability to pay for water above the 6,000 free litres, while the impact of HIV/AIDS has increased the demand for the commodity. A cholera outbreak in the eastern province of KwaZulu-Natal in 2001 was "quite clearly where a large part of the community were cut off [from water supplies] and forced to use the river", said Hempson. "The government focuses on quantitative targets, rather than looking at whether the services it provides are sustainable," commented Roberts. "The government is hyping [social services] but what it has tried to gloss over is the disconnections." Khosa's verdict on the past 10 years, while broadly positive, is that the government "ought to have done a lot more, and a lot more quicker". For more details see: Special report on widening poverty gap To view other reports on the decade of democracy see: Special report on a decade of democracy - HIV/AIDS Special report on a decade of democracy - black economic empowerment Special report on a decade of democracy - foreign policy