Budgeting for Child Socio-economic Rights

The South African Constitution gives all children the right to a basic level of income, basic social services, health services, education and shelter. Yet, at least 60 percent of children in South Africa under the age of 17 - a total of 10.5 million children - do not have sufficient income to live a happy, healthy and secure life. According to the South African Constitution, the government is obliged to budget for the realisation of children's socio-economic rights. Yet the sharp contrast between what the law provides for in principle and what happens in practice makes a book of this kind essential reading. This book asks the question: Has the government been budgeting for the delivery of the child's right to social security and education in South Africa? It develops a methodology for evaluating the government's performance in budgeting for child socio-economic rights. Budgeting for Child Socio-Economic Rights sets out the government's obligations to budget for the delivery of child socio-economic rights and monitors budgets to see if the government is meeting these obligations.