Swaziland - Using Public Transfers to Reduce Extreme Poverty
2012
World Bank
The report focuses on the social safety net, particularly cash and in-kind transfers. The safety net can play an important role in addressing poverty and vulnerability; however, the process by which the safety nets have been developed in Swaziland has produced a fragmented system that leaves many Swazis unprotected by the safety net. Improvements in efficiency and effectiveness are both necessary and possible. Poverty and extreme poverty in Swaziland are both overwhelmingly rural phenomena. The incidence of poverty is 73 percent in rural areas but only 31 percent in urban areas. Eighty-eight percent of the poor and 95 percent of the extreme poor live in rural areas, and the average consumption of the urban poor is 33 percent below the poverty line while it is 51 percent below the poverty line among the rural poor. Also, poverty is deeper in rural areas than it is in urban areas. The objective of this study is to identify viable ways to make the safety net more relevant and efficient through an in-depth analysis of poverty and vulnerability and of the efficacy of current safety net programs. The report focuses on publicly financed social transfers in Swaziland, including cash and in-kind transfers. This includes programs funded by either national or official international aid. Chapter two explores the risks faced by the Swazis, including but not limited to poverty. Chapter three reviews current social net programs and expenditures and analyzes the efficiency and effectiveness of social transfers. Chapter four analyzes ways to target safety net programs, and chapter five discusses options to increase the relevance and efficiency of the safety net, particularly in light of the recent financial crisis.
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