Tackling child poverty in South Africa: Implications of <italic>ubuntu</italic> for the system of social grants

In South Africa both liberal and more communitarian and relational discourses of citizenship can be seen -- the latter in the form of the southern African idea of <italic>ubuntu</italic>. Policy for assisting children, however, is dominated by the framework of liberal citizenship, most clearly through the Bill of Rights and in particular the Child Support Grant. Using analyses from a purpose-built microsimulation model we show how a neglect of children's broader relationships in the current liberal citizenship inspired policy context limits the effectiveness of the child poverty strategy. The empirical analyses demonstrate how a greater recognition by policymakers of the relational principles of <italic>ubuntu</italic> could be expected to have more effect on reducing child poverty.