The Private Affairs of Public Pensions in South Africa: Debt, Development and Corporatization

This paper describes the political and institutional evolution of South African pension schemes with a special focus on the reform of contributory public pension schemes toward the end of apartheid. It further examines the governance structure of the pension system in order to establish whether it is transparent and accountable, while ensuring that the pension system is able to pursue its main roles of social protection, redistribution and contribution to economic development and social cohesion.