This paper attempts to explain how, in just 14 years, the poor moved from central to post-apartheid reconstruction and development to being depicted by political leaders as the undeserving poor. The undeserving poor – relying on ‘handouts’ and ‘dependent’ on the state, lacking the moral fibre to enjoy the benefits of economic growth - have come to occupy a significant place in the poverty discourse and policy formulation of the African National Congress (ANC). Quite remarkably, this contrasts with the continued public sympathy for the poor and the large amount of social giving occurring in South Africa.