Challenges facing the recipients of the child support grant in the Umhlathuze Municipality
This study seeks to investigate the challenges facing the recipients of child support grant with special reference to uMhlathuze District Municipality. The government in its efforts to alleviate poverty, to the previously disadvantaged and vulnerable segments of our communities introduced several poverty alleviation strategies like the Child Support Grant which replaced the Maintanance grant. The Child Support Grant has proven to be successful as it was able, according to the then Minister of Social Development, Mr Zola Skweyiya, to put about 8 million orphans and poor children in the safety net in 2008. However as successful as it may be the Child Support Grant as a strategy is fraught with administrative problems and fraudulent activities committed by the recipients of the grant themselves. The writer's findings upon conducting empirical research discovered that, recipients forge more children's birth certificates and even boast about having more babies because they command considerable cash from the grant and unemployed parents become excited when their children drop-out of school as a result of the grant benefits. Their reason was that they find it hard to cope with the cost of living as a result of the unforeseen challenges that escalate with each baby. The main aim of this study was to outline these challenges and make recommendations towards their solutions. The study also sought to answer the question of whether there were any exit programmes designed to assist the beneficiaries to support their children and cater for their needs as they grow until they reach tertiary education. The study was exploratory and purposive in nature. Both qualitative and quantitative methods of research were used. Interview schedules that were used were the questionnaires and interviews. The sample was divided into two phases. Phase one consisted of the Child support grant recipients and Phase two consisted of social workers and community development workers and two interview schedules were used respectively. The findings of this study revealed that the majority of the respondents experienced hardships in terms of property ownership, employment, education, training and skills development, emotional and financial support. Lack of basic amenities such as health care and early child development programmes and social development programmes designed to supplement the grant are all social imperatives that they have rights to, according to the Bill of rights enshrined in the Constitution. This is a challenge for government and the community at large, if the situation is not changed the situation will cost government to loose huge amounts which could be used for other projects.
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