State (Re)-Building and Welfare State Development in Post-apartheid South Africa

Welfare state-building in post-apartheid South Africa is characterised by the refusal to shed the liberal-oriented outlook inherited from the previous regime with a hindering effect towards expansive social reforms. While free of the racist dictates of the apartheid regime, it adopted an unrelenting attitude to a social reform agenda of a means-tested variety with the old-age pension system taking pole position. Crucial in all of this is the role played by voices from below whose divided and fragmented existence became less effective in spurring the post-apartheid society on a more egalitarian path. Thanks to this lack of unity, they are yet to exploit the political significance of social safety nets by demanding a universal welfare state as a broad-based movement championing a common cause.