"Enthusiasm for the idea of a 'developmental state' emerged in South Africa in the early 1990s, re-surfaced in the mid-2000s, and re-emerged yet again after 2007. The idea appealed to the statist instincts of many ANC leaders, and got momentum because of the perceived importance of shifting the economy onto a more inclusive and faster growth path. After twenty years of ANC government, however, growth remained sluggish and non-inclusive. The standard explanations are insufficient: Neither politics within the ANC nor international agreements nor state incapacity prevented the state developing interventionist industrial policies in some sectors. We offer a fourth part of the story: The preferred mix of policies associated with the developmental state in practice was inappropriate for the South African context. By encouraging capital- and skill- intensification, public policies retarded growth and inclusivity, and reproduced rather than reduced poverty and inequality. The South African state has, however, redistributed through cash transfers very efficiently. Pro-poor outcomes are more likely if the state builds on the strengths of its welfare state and avoids heavy investments in capital- and skill- intensive industry that are favoured by the would- be developmental state." -- Abstract.

The White Paper for Social Welfare adopted by Parliament in 1997 provided a policy framework to shift social welfare from meeting the needs of a small minority to a social development perspective. This policy change has required the complete overhaul of th e current welfare system with far-reaching implications for human and financial resources policy and legislative reform in line with the new constitution and the Bill of Rights changes in institutional arrangements and trade-offs between different sectors and interests in society. In the past social work education was not developmentally orientated and tended to borrow uncritically from North American and European theory and practice. There was a lack of South African and African literature in the field of welfare and development. In addition to the need for the renewal of social work education in South Africa, there was also a need for the re-orientation of existing social workers to implement new welfare thinking and to app r a ise theory and practice critically.

Experience in developing countries shows that wealth does not "trickle down". No matter how strongly the IMF and World Bank advise that salvation lies in growth, when that growth comes from the developed sector of the economy, it benefits the rich and simply does not reach the poor majority. Conditions in South Africa show the same outcome. Fourteen years after the ANC came to power, the unemployment rate of 24 percent is more than twice that of the next country on the list (Economist). Poverty is so prevalent that welfare grants are a desperate remedy in this "budget surplus" economy. No one denies that inequality is rising. All of this flies in the face of the Freedom Charter's declaration that sharing would be the guiding principle for democratic South Africa. This book is the result of a high level seminar convened to draw together the threads of a vigorour national debate on the role of the state in socio-economic development. Hosted by the Minister of Provincial and Local Government, it was attended by top leaders and officials of the state, parastatal development organisations and academic institutions.

This book is written by Southern African social welfare, social work, social development, social security and social policy academics, practitioners and advocates who have varying degrees of experience. The authors who contributed chapters to this book added their perspectives to ongoing debates about academic areas in the region. Thus, the book’s primary objective is to discuss the development of social welfare and social work in Southern Africa. In doing so, it endeavours to contribute to the existing body of knowledge on social welfare and social work in the region. The chapters are examined through different theoretical lenses and historical perspectives. In this book, African scholars, academics, and practitioners provide a deep and critical reflection of social welfare, social work, and related disciplines during the colonial and post-colonial era, a period characterised by a deliberate move by Africa’s political administrations to focus on nation-building and to attempt to make Africa a global player. Despite being endowed with rich natural resources like minerals; agriculture; and solid family and extended family life, the continent is weak globally. Furthermore, the book focuses on the pre-colonial period – a golden thread running through the chapters. The book discusses the colonial era when Western countries’ capture and oppression of Africa characterised the continent’s history. This book is an appropriate publication at this point in our history; a resource that can be used to generate appropriate narratives and questions within the social welfare and social development sector, particularly on delivery, education and training.

This book addresses the central questions of how social and economic rights have been historically constructed and shaped by processes of political change, economic structures and reforms, and institutional design and capacities. These conceptualizations and processes are deeply gendered even in contexts where formal political equality has been won, and while gender is a persistent marker of difference across these regions, it intersects in a variety of ways with other axes of difference such as class, race and age. The book illustrates the importance of thinking beyond states and markets in social provisioning, including in its analysis the interactions between these and other social institutions such as family and community.

Social welfare and social development discusses social welfare practice in global and regional context. It addresses issues of poverty, unemployment and populations at risk within South Africa and the role of the social welfare system in South Africa in tackling these issues. The book outlines the theory and practice of social development as the practice through which the South African government aims to address social challenges. The first edition was unique and groundbreaking in its explication of social development and is still valued for these insights. The second edition includes updated discussions, reviewing changes in the social landscape since 2005.

Seekings and Nattrass explain why poverty persisted in South Africa after the transition to democracy in 1994. The book examines how public policies both mitigated and reproduced poverty, and explains how and why these policies were adopted. The analysis offers lessons for the study of poverty elsewhere in the world.

"A study prepared for the World Institute for Development Economics Research of the United Nations University (UNU-WIDER)"