Social Grants Impact on Household Livelihoods: Empirical Evidence from International Migrants in Cape Town, South Africa
South Africa has rolled out several social protection programmes targeted at various categories of people, including children, the elderly, the disabled, and the unemployed. Migrants also access social assistance as a livelihood mechanism. However, while existing studies link the country’s social pr...
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Noyam Journals
2024-11-01
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| Series: | E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences |
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| Online Access: | https://noyam.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/EHASS20245146.pdf |
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| author | Jonas Nzabamwita Emmanuel Ndhlovu |
| author_facet | Jonas Nzabamwita Emmanuel Ndhlovu |
| author_sort | Jonas Nzabamwita |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | South Africa has rolled out several social protection programmes targeted at various categories of people, including children, the elderly, the disabled, and the unemployed. Migrants also access social assistance as a livelihood mechanism. However, while existing studies link the country’s social protection initiatives with reductions in poverty, inequality, and unemployment, much of the data used to back these claims are drawn from quantitative surveys that rarely incorporate the livelihood plight of migrants. This has enormous policy and practical implications. This article seeks to close this gap by examining the role of social grants in migrants’ livelihoods in Cape Town, South Africa. Underpinned by exploratory and descriptive research designs, this mixed research methods study used primary data drawn from migrant household heads receiving social grants and key informants from migrant-serving organisations and focus group discussions. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for quantitative data, while thematic data analysis was used for qualitative data. The results showed that besides the traditional short-term protective role of consumptive expenditure, social grants play a long-term promotive role in facilitating access to education and health and improving access to accommodation, water, and energy for migrants. To maximise social grants’ protective and promotive roles in migrant communities, this article recommends deploying proactive steps, including raising the value of grants, providing financial literacy training, and combining social grants with other programmes. The study adds to ongoing debates on the quality and effectiveness of social protection strategies in South Africa. It also flags policy directions for policymakers and other stakeholders working on social protection in South Africa. |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj-art-02b8e61538fd48658504a147785bcd61 |
| institution | Kabale University |
| issn | 2720-7722 |
| language | English |
| publishDate | 2024-11-01 |
| publisher | Noyam Journals |
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| series | E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences |
| spelling | doaj-art-02b8e61538fd48658504a147785bcd612025-01-06T12:24:50ZengNoyam JournalsE-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences2720-77222024-11-0151425182533https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20245146Social Grants Impact on Household Livelihoods: Empirical Evidence from International Migrants in Cape Town, South AfricaJonas Nzabamwita0https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4350-5290Emmanuel Ndhlovu1https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2339-3068NRF-DSI South African Research Chair in Industrial Development University of Johannesburg, South Africa; Department of International Development Studies, Faculty of Environmental Studies, University of Lay Adventists of Kigali, RwandaSchool of Public Management, Governance and Public Policy, College of Business and Economics, University of Johannesburg, South Africa.South Africa has rolled out several social protection programmes targeted at various categories of people, including children, the elderly, the disabled, and the unemployed. Migrants also access social assistance as a livelihood mechanism. However, while existing studies link the country’s social protection initiatives with reductions in poverty, inequality, and unemployment, much of the data used to back these claims are drawn from quantitative surveys that rarely incorporate the livelihood plight of migrants. This has enormous policy and practical implications. This article seeks to close this gap by examining the role of social grants in migrants’ livelihoods in Cape Town, South Africa. Underpinned by exploratory and descriptive research designs, this mixed research methods study used primary data drawn from migrant household heads receiving social grants and key informants from migrant-serving organisations and focus group discussions. Descriptive and inferential statistics were used for quantitative data, while thematic data analysis was used for qualitative data. The results showed that besides the traditional short-term protective role of consumptive expenditure, social grants play a long-term promotive role in facilitating access to education and health and improving access to accommodation, water, and energy for migrants. To maximise social grants’ protective and promotive roles in migrant communities, this article recommends deploying proactive steps, including raising the value of grants, providing financial literacy training, and combining social grants with other programmes. The study adds to ongoing debates on the quality and effectiveness of social protection strategies in South Africa. It also flags policy directions for policymakers and other stakeholders working on social protection in South Africa.https://noyam.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/EHASS20245146.pdfhouseholdsinternational migrantssocial grantpovertyrefugeeslivelihoodssouth africa |
| spellingShingle | Jonas Nzabamwita Emmanuel Ndhlovu Social Grants Impact on Household Livelihoods: Empirical Evidence from International Migrants in Cape Town, South Africa E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences households international migrants social grant poverty refugees livelihoods south africa |
| title | Social Grants Impact on Household Livelihoods: Empirical Evidence from International Migrants in Cape Town, South Africa |
| title_full | Social Grants Impact on Household Livelihoods: Empirical Evidence from International Migrants in Cape Town, South Africa |
| title_fullStr | Social Grants Impact on Household Livelihoods: Empirical Evidence from International Migrants in Cape Town, South Africa |
| title_full_unstemmed | Social Grants Impact on Household Livelihoods: Empirical Evidence from International Migrants in Cape Town, South Africa |
| title_short | Social Grants Impact on Household Livelihoods: Empirical Evidence from International Migrants in Cape Town, South Africa |
| title_sort | social grants impact on household livelihoods empirical evidence from international migrants in cape town south africa |
| topic | households international migrants social grant poverty refugees livelihoods south africa |
| url | https://noyam.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/11/EHASS20245146.pdf |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT jonasnzabamwita socialgrantsimpactonhouseholdlivelihoodsempiricalevidencefrominternationalmigrantsincapetownsouthafrica AT emmanuelndhlovu socialgrantsimpactonhouseholdlivelihoodsempiricalevidencefrominternationalmigrantsincapetownsouthafrica |