MOKGORO J
[52]
The right of access to social security, including social assistance, for
those unable to support themselves and their dependants is entrenched because
as a society we value human beings and want to ensure that people are afforded
their basic needs. A society must seek to ensure that the basic necessities of
life are accessible to all if it is to be a society in which human dignity, freedom
and equality are foundational.55
The reasonableness of citizenship as a criterion of differentiation
[53]
It is necessary to differentiate between people and groups of people in
society by classification in order for the state to allocate rights, duties,
immunities, privileges, benefits or even disadvantages and to provide efficient
and effective delivery of social services. However, those classifications must
satisfy the constitutional requirement of “reasonableness” in section 27(2). In
this case, the state has chosen to differentiate between citizens and non-citizens.
That differentiation, if it is to pass constitutional muster, must not be arbitrary
or irrational nor must it manifest a naked preference. There must be a rational
connection between that differentiating law and the legitimate government
purpose it is designed to achieve. A differentiating law or action which does
not meet these standards will be in violation of section 9(1) and section 27(2)
of the Constitution.
55
Id at para 44.
33
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