Guide to SA grant system
2010-03-25
AFTER nearly two years of research and decades of assisting poor and vulnerable people to access their right to social assistance, the Black Sash has published what’s been described by Professor Viviene Taylor as “the first comprehensive guide to South Africa’s social grant system.” Professor Taylor, who chaired the ‘Committee of Inquiry into a Comprehensive System of Social Security for South Africa’ in 2001 and wrote the foreword to the guide, says ‘Social Assistance: A reference guide for paralegals’ is “an invaluable contribution in ensuring that people are able to claim their social and economic rights. “It translates policy and legislative requirements for accessing social grants into clear and simple steps that can be understood by those who work in communities.” Starting from chapter one, ‘Social Assistance: A reference guide for paralegals’ outlines what the right to social assistance means for those who live in South Africa. It provides information on the different types of social grants available to people, the criteria according to which individuals qualify for these grants, and the process through which applications can be made. Black Sash Advocacy Programme Manager, Ratula Beukman, who wrote a number of the chapters, says the guide draws heavily on the extensive experience of Black Sash paralegal staff who assist thousands of people across the country each year. “We have used our own case studies in this guide to illustrate what kinds of issues and problems may arise when trying to access social assistance and how they can be handled. “We have tried to capture in one publication as much up-to-date information as possible. We believe that our book will be useful to anyone who wants to give advice on social grants.”
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