Presenter(s): Gabrielle Kelly

Abstract / Description:

The disability grant (DG) has featured prominently in debates around social security in South Africa, both inside and outside government, because it has raised major questions about social development and poverty alleviation strategies that extend well beyond concerns about disability. Debates around how to regulate access to the DG and who “deserves” the grant reveal discursive tensions within government and civil society around concepts of disability and the value of social grants as a developmental intervention. In this seminar I will discuss the recent history of DG regulation and the discourses of "deservingness" that are visible in the debates on how to manage access to the grant. This is based on an analysis of minutes and recordings of parliamentary debates, legislation, policy documents and departmental plans and reports.