NORTHERN CAPE HOSTS KEY CONSULTATION ON LINKING SOCIAL GRANTS TO SUSTAINABLE LIVELIHOODS

By: Tebogo Mokae

• The Northern Cape consultation forms part of a national process to strengthen pathways from social grants to sustainable livelihoods while maintaining essential social protection.
• Stakeholders emphasised that grants remain a right for vulnerable groups, alongside structured opportunities for economic participation for working-age beneficiaries.
• Evidence from pilots such as Generating Better Livelihoods and community-based initiatives is shaping a developmental social protection model focused on empowerment and long-term resilience.

The Department of Social Development (DSD) has reaffirmed its commitment to a more intentional and developmental approach to social protection following the opening of a Provincial Consultation Workshop on the Draft Policy on Linking Social Protection Beneficiaries to Sustainable Livelihood Opportunities, held from 16 to 19 February 2026 in the Northern Cape.
The consultation, hosted in Upington, forms part of a national process to refine a policy aimed at strengthening pathways from social assistance to sustainable livelihoods. Importantly, the Northern Cape engagement builds on proven lessons and implementation experience drawn from earlier work in the Free State, Eastern Cape, and KwaZulu-Natal, where pilot initiatives have demonstrated the potential of linking social protection with economic inclusion.

From Safety Net to Springboard

Ms Emma Tabane of National DSD opened the workshop by emphasising that the draft policy is not intended to replace social grants or social relief measures. Instead, it aims to complement existing support by introducing structured and voluntary pathways that enable working-age beneficiaries, where appropriate, to transition towards economic participation and self-reliance.
With social grants currently supporting more than 19 million South Africans, the department highlighted the critical role they play in poverty alleviation. The policy signals a strategic shift towards positioning grants as a foundation for empowerment, enabling beneficiaries to move towards self-reliance while maintaining essential social protection for vulnerable groups.

Evidence-Informed Policy Design

A key feature of the workshop on the opening day was the presentation of the Framework for Linking Social Protection Beneficiaries to Sustainable Livelihood Opportunities. The framework draws on community-based initiatives such as early livelihood projects in the Eastern Cape, where women-led enterprises grew from small collective savings into viable economic activities through coordinated state, private-sector, and civil-society support.
Further evidence informing the policy includes lessons from the Generating Better Livelihoods pilot implemented with partners such as the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) and the National Development Agency (NDA), as well as findings from a recent national design evaluation recommending the adoption of the Graduation Model as a core implementation approach.

Key Issues Raised by Stakeholders

Through commission-based discussions, participants highlighted several priorities for strengthening the Draft Policy:
•⁠ ⁠The need to clearly situate the policy within South Africa’s triple challenge of poverty, inequality and unemployment;
•⁠ ⁠Recognition that social grants remain a long-term right for older persons and people with severe disabilities, alongside differentiated pathways for other beneficiaries;
•⁠ ⁠Stronger alignment with existing national, provincial and sectoral development frameworks;
•⁠ ⁠Greater operational clarity on funding, sequencing of support, graduation criteria and exit strategies; and
•⁠ ⁠Investment in the capacity of Community Development Practitioners and local structures to drive implementation on the ground.Participants also stressed that provincial realities—particularly in rural and semi-arid regions such as the Northern Cape—must shape how linking models are designed and rolled out.

Looking Ahead

The Day 1 engagements underscored broad support for the Draft Policy, with stakeholders agreeing that it is both timely and necessary. The consolidated inputs from the Northern Cape consultation will inform further refinements to the policy, alongside insights from other provinces.
As the DSD continues its national consultative process, the emphasis remains on translating social protection into sustainable opportunity, ensuring that grants not only protect against poverty, but also open doors to dignity, resilience and inclusive economic participation.