Getting it right and wrong: An overview of a decade of post-apartheid social welfare

This article reviews the progress made and discusses the challenges for social welfare and social work in a post-apartheid society since the adoption of the White Paper for Social Welfare a decade ago. Much has been achieved in setting a developmental welfare policy agenda. An expansive social security system is contributing to a reduction in poverty and inequality and enhanced human capacity with direct human development benefits for beneficiaries and their households. However, less progress has been realised in the repositioning of social welfare services and social work practice from a remedial to a developmental approach. The South African experience highlights the lessons learnt from the renewal of social welfare and social work in keeping with developmental thinking.