List of Titles

Civil society and the transformation of social security: towards a perspective conception of the right to have access to social security in South Africa

- Malan, Christiaan Pieter Naudé

Authors: Malan, Christiaan Pieter Naudé
Date: 2009-05-07T07:24:03Z
Subjects: Civil society (South Africa) , Social security , Non-governmental organizations , Demographic transition
Type: Thesis
Identifier: uj:8363 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/2504
Description: D.Phil. , Civil society organisations have and will be mentioned as partners, agents and autochthonous actors of social security. This has come about through advances in insurance products, through the kinds of social action engaged in by civil society organisations, and through the devolution of state power to citizens and civil society organisations. Rights to social security are decisively affected by the use of civil society organisations in the social policy field, and the implications of this use are investigated. This reality of the changing nature of social action needs to be brought to bear on human rights, if rights are to respond adequately to the concerns of injustice, inequality and poverty today. The thesis develops a framework within which civil society-based action could be made rights-based and justiciable, and which could guard against the retrogressive substitution of state action by civil society-based activity. Civil society-based action can be seen as upholding rights if it conforms to the fundamental requirements of human rights. These fundamental requirements derive from a performative conception of rights that sees the individual as subject of rights and as the fundamental actor of rights. This view of rights sees rights as dependent on the abilities and volition of all in society, and is presented as an alternative to a realist view of rights, as well as a view of rights as derived from basic human functionings. The intersection of this view of rights, the reality of non-state action for rights, and the legal discourse around socio-economic rights is the central problem that this thesis addresses. The legal discourse has only partially recognised this form of social action, and this thesis proposes a framework within which we may interpret and assess whether civil society action is indeed conducive to the realisation of rights. This framework includes democratic norms for conduct inside civil society organisations, for the interaction between civil society organisations and other actors, like the state and market, and also delineates the role of the court in this performative conception of rights. These interactions will shape the content, and nature of socio-economic rights, and here these insights are made applicable to the right to have access to social security in South Africa. The thesis discusses the suitability of South African civil society for this normative programme developed here. I analyse South African civil society, its historical role in transformation, in the current context, and its place in social and economic policy. There are ample opportunities for participation by civil society organisations in the further reform of the social security system. The realisation of novel ways to realise the right to have access to social security through civil society organisations for South Africans would depend on clarity on how civil society organisations could contribute to the enjoyment, realisation and performance of this right. The framework of accountability developed here has precedents and roots in law, civil society theory and in the discourse of social security. I analyse each, and I show how the social security discourse has incorporated civil society organisations in its historical development. Currently, it is a leading avenue for the further development of this discourse. However, this possibility – which intersects with the discourse of civil society – would depend on civil society being able to realise normative ends in its interaction with wider society. To gain clarity on this I analyse the civil society discourse, and critically point out problems that could stand in the way of this normative project. However, theorists of civil society have emphasised how this problem can be overcome; I draw on these writings to substantiate and legitimate the framework of accountability developed earlier. The realisation of this framework of accountability and action would enable civil society organisations to realise normative ends in society, and thus contribute to the realisation of rights. This vision of how rights could be realised is also discussed from a legal point of view, and I point out the features of the legal discourse that would support my thesis. The central objective of the thesis is to show that the South African constitution can support this reading of rights and the place of civil society action in its realisation.
Full Text:

Quick View

Examining the robustness of Zimbabwean social protection mechanisms in the context of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)

- Nhapi, Tatenda Goodman

Authors: Nhapi, Tatenda Goodman
Date: 2021
Subjects: COVID-19 , Social security , Zimbabwe
Language: English
Type: Article
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/487522 , uj:44383 , Citation: Nhapi, T. G. (2021). Examining the robustness of Zimbabwean social protection mechanisms in the context of Corona Virus Disease 2019 (COVID-19). African Journal of Social Work, 11(4), 240-249.
Description: Abstract: Pervasiveness of the 2019 novel coronavirus (SARS-CoV-2) (COVID-19) pandemic has called into question the appropriateness of many countries’ social security systems. This article explores dynamics of Zimbabwe’s current social security trajectory in the context of the COVID 19 pandemic. Despite operational shortcomings, it is undisputed that that Zimbabwe has a robust social security system galvanised by a well-functioning Department of Social Services. However, social assistance programmes targeting vulnerable person’s social assistance present as insufficient, fragmented due to inflationary pressures. Significantly, on 30 March 2020 the Minister of Finance and Economic Development promulgated a ZWL$200 (approximately US $550,000) million safety net availing monthly, targeting one million vulnerable households under the harmonised cash transfer programme. Effectively, this was to translate to ZWL$200 per household. Through reliance on secondary literature review, article aimed at gaining insights into social security administration domains in light of the COVID-19 pandemic. Using social work lens grounded on advancing of service users’ enhanced dignity and social functioning, article’s conclusions and recommendations are for advancement of Zimbabwe’s social security towards desired outcomes of Sustainable Development Goal 1 realisation of ending poverty. When this is achievable can desired outcomes of safeguarding of vulnerable persons from COVID-19 impacts be achieved.
Full Text:

Quick View

Loss of earning capacity: its nature and its place in South African law

- Millard, Daleen

Authors: Millard, Daleen
Date: 2008-06-10T11:45:08Z
Subjects: Torts , Damages , Workers' compensation , Social security , Disability evaluation , Comparative law
Type: Thesis
Identifier: uj:9554 , http://hdl.handle.net/10210/597
Description: Loss of earning capacity is a concept that is relevant to actions in which a wrongdoer is held liable for the detrimental effect of his actions on a claimant’s capacity to generate an income.Take the example of a claimant who had worked as a shift leader in a mine but after a damage-causing event is only capable of working above ground as a clerk. By comparing his salary pre-morbid with his salary post-morbid, it is possible to calculate the difference. This difference, if the former is the greater, constitutes the damage suffered by the claimant and, as such, the amount constitutes what he can claim as compensation.In an instance where a person is not in a position to furnish evidence about his earnings pre- and post-morbid, nevertheless, the court may award compensation for the claimant’s loss of earnings.Essentially, the compensation is payment for loss of earning capacity and not for loss of earnings.In making such an award, the court recognises that the claimant experiences a partial or total impairment of his capacity to generate an income.Koch states that in such problematic cases the courts often shy away from quantifying a claimant’s estimated annual income.Instead of employing the sum-formula approach,the courts opt for a general assessment using the “some-how-or-other” approach.What seems at first like a straightforward pre- and post-morbid calculation therefore is fraught with intricate theoretical questions. Although this problem is more evident in cases of unemployed claimants and children, it may also occur in other cases where loss of earning capacity is one of the heads of damages. , Prof. J.W.G. Van der Walt
Full Text:

Quick View

The impact of the Fourth Industrial Revolution on social protection as a tool to eradicate poverty in South Africa

- Mbele, Nokuthula Celiwe

Authors: Mbele, Nokuthula Celiwe
Date: 2020
Subjects: Social security , Poor - Services for , Social policy
Language: English
Type: Masters (Thesis)
Identifier: http://hdl.handle.net/10210/453102 , uj:39990
Description: Abstract: Reducing poverty and its effects has always been a challenge in South Africa. Primarily, this is due to the rise of unemployment as well as the inequality that exists as a result of past injustice. A serious social risk African countries face is poverty,1 which makes it increasingly pertinent that social protection is provided to address issues related to poverty and vulnerability, particularly in the light of outh Africa‘s poor economic growth. The onset of the fourth industrial revolution in South Africa already is changing the way we live, so it is essential an investigation determine how its arrival will have an impact on poverty and how social protection measures can mitigate the impact. The concept of social protection is broad and is understood and interpreted differently in a variety of settings. Social protection is a human rights-based approach to social policy, which ensures people have access to basic services and social guarantees.2 It consists of ―social safety nets, or interventions that cushion the poor against production and consumption shocks, such as food aid for drought-affected farmers in subsistence-oriented communities‖. 3 Social protection is defined as ―Social protection is broader than social security... , LL.M. (Mercantile Law)
Full Text:

Showing items 1 - 6 of 6