Social Security
| Date | 01 October 1958 |
| Published date | 01 October 1958 |
| DOI | http://doi.org/10.1002/j.1099-162X.1958.tb01181.x |
Social
Security
SECTION
VIII
78. We
interpret
Social Security as
meaning
freedom from want, or the
ｰｲｯｾ
vision
of
guaranteed
maintenance
on some
minimum
scale for every individual
in a community.
79.
In
atribal society social security as so defined is, except in times when
the whole society is
the
victim of some
natural
disaster such as
drought
and
famine, provided by
the
system of customary
land
tenure
and
by
the
obligations
of
the
extended family. When Africans begin to settle in towns, this system
may
continue for a time to work after a fashion. Some
at
any
rate
of
the
wage
earners in
the
towns will
probably
regard
themselves as obliged to give
board
and
lodging, often for long periods, to members
of
their extended family
who
may
feel inclined to come
and
visit
them
to try
their
fortune in
the
town.
On
the
other
hand
many
of
the town dwellers in their
turn
will expect to
return
to their tribal areas
and
take
advantage
of
the
benefits
of
the
customary system
of
tribal social security if they lose their jobs,
are
incapacitated, or
reach
old
age.
80. This
partial
operation of tribal social security is
apt,
however, to
become increasingly disadvantageous to
both
parties.
The
obligations
of
the
extended family, in so far as they
are
fulfilled by
the
town dweller
and
wage
earner, become a
drag
upon
him, take
away
the incentive to improve his
position,
and
consequently destroy his initiative. At the same time the fulfilment
of
customary obligations becomes more
and
more
of
a
burden
upon
the
rural
community
to which a town dweller returns
and
expects to receive his
customary rights after the productive period of his life has been spent outside
his tribal area, especially if growing populations
and
the introduction
of
cash
crops have led to a shortage of land.
8!.
It
seems clear therefore
that
sooner or later the old tribal system of social
security will
break
down
and
that
it will become necessary to meet the relative
insecurity
of
urban
life by social security schemes of the kind
with
which the
western world is familiar.
82. Social Security in this sense is a specialised
and
almost technical subject,
and
we consider
that
the details of social security schemes
are
beyond
the
scope
of
this Conference. We note
that
the
Kenya
Government
has
already
carried
out
investigations into social security problems
and
we recommend
that
similar
investigations should be carried
out
by
other
territories
with
which we
arc
concerned.
Such
investigations should, we suggest, be
undertaken
on
both
it
territorial
and
a local basis,
and
should include in their scope
the
question
whether
any
schemes recommended should be
operated
by central or by local
government.
The
investigations we have recommended should include
the
collection
and
analysis of statistical
data.
In
particular
we
support
the
view
of
the
Kenya
Committee on Social Security-
that
registration of births, marriages
and
deaths should be instituted, on
the
grounds
that
no state social security
scheme could be entirely satisfactory unless vital statistics were available.
We
are
aware
that
other
Governments have
made
a
start
with
the
registration
2
Report
of the Social Security
Committee.
Government
Printers. Nairobi, I!)57.
200
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