There are now more people receiving social grants in SA than there are people with jobs. Narius Moloto, secretary general of trade union federation NACTU, says this is another form of political patronage used by the ANC to buy votes. He says SA is over-administered and suggests scrapping provinces to eliminate wasteful expenditure. Welfare is intended as a short-term intervention to assist the poor during times of great need - but in SA it is turning out to be a trough with no bottom.

Proponents of the welfare state would do well to understand the origins of their cherished beliefs. It was the eugenicists who were loudest in promoting the welfare state in the post-World War II era, among them the famous economist, John Maynard Keynes. They had nothing but contempt for the poor.

The Gauteng Department of Social Development is attempting to bring non-governmental organisations under its control, and this must be resisted, says the SA Institute for Race Relations. It it succeeds in Gauteng, other provinces will follow suit.