Is Botswana social safety net model really alleviating poverty

1. Is Botswana social safety net model really alleviating poverty Sinkamba, R Department of social Work, UB

2. Outline • introduction • Objective • Literature review • Possible solutions • Conclusion

3. Introduction • With diamonds not being forever it is crucial to evaluate the social safety net model used in Botswana in particular to the social assistance that the government provide through the destitute policy programme

4. objectives • overview of social safety net and its history in Botswana with a critical analysis of the destitute policy • Its effectiveness to alleviate poverty in Botswana with particular emphasis on the challenges and prospects for the future.

5. Literature review • Botswana has gained a remarkable economic transformation to be one of the upper middle income countries from independence to current era • The government saw it fit to meet the needs of the vulnerable groups by providing social protection. • During the 2012/13 fiscal year, social protection spending accounted for about 4.4 percent of GDP, or P5,347 million (World Bank, 2013). • However there is a need to look into the sustainability of the social safety nets which are part of the social protection

6. Social safety agenda • Social safety net intend to “fill gaps, target the poor, directly address adjustment costs, and explore and experiment with more efficient approaches to poverty alleviation” (United Nations Research Institute for Social Development [UNRISD], 1994: 6) • Botswana is providing social safety nets guided by the “A compassionate and caring nation” which includes one of the main factors in this pillar as; “Social Safety Net -All people will have access to productive resources, regardless of ethnic origin, gender,disability or misfortune. Botswana will have succeeded in helping people to escapefrom the poverty trap, and play a full part in society”

7. following are the social safety nets that exists in Botswana as interventions to the vulnerable population • Old pension scheme • Destitute person programme • Orphan care • Community home based care • World War II veterans programme • Remote areas development programme • Labour –based public works and drought relief programme • Primary school feeding

8. Case study: Destitute programme • The National Policy on Destitute persons was first introduced in 1980. The objective of this policy was to ensure that government provides minimum assistance to the needy persons to improve their health and welfare conditions and to alleviate poverty. • In March 2002, the old National Policy on Destitute Persons was revised • The objectives of this scheme remained unaltered “to ensure that government provides minimum assistance to the genuine destitute persons to ensure their good health and welfare”

9. Does the destitute programme alleviate poverty

10. The destitute programme is a very established with well-known systems and regulations. It has provided a lifeline for the poor • However, research states that although the destitute programme plays a significant role in poverty alleviation it is not without challenges

11. Does the destitute programme alleviate poverty • There are basically factors that need to be considered that may cause the shortfall of the programme namely; eligibility, adequacy of benefits, and take-up by the eligible population • Eligibility: Is the household entitled to assistance? • Adequacy: Are benefits adequate to cover needs? • Take-Up: Are benefits fully taken up by the household

12. ..Does the destitute programme alleviate poverty • Currently the government uses the destitute programme as a social safety net to contain the poverty situation rather than coming up with measures that assist the poor to be out of the poverty trap • The exit strategy is needed: Destitute policy was primarily designed to be a temporary relief

13. Challenges • Dependency syndrome: The destitute programme recognises a need for the beneficiaries to exit the programme through a rehabilitation component for able bodied persons. • The target group: However, the implementation of the rehabilitation has been hindered by the fact that most of the beneficiaries enrolled in the destitute programme are old, sometimes frail elderly who have low educational levels and have no skills • Scares resource: faced by social workers in the field • Lots of political influence in assessments

14. Possible solutions • The need for the legal framework • Have specific exit strategy that target all different populations within the programme • Have politicians have little political influence on the programme • The programme could be giving us better outcomes but needs to be implemented in a way that shows output