Phasing in a universal R100 monthly basic income grant is a step in the right direction to ease poverty across South Africa through a comprehensive social security network, says the civil society-based Basic Income Grant (BIG) coalition.
While this approach would be necessary until the required administrative capacity is developed, an immediate extension of child support grants to all children under 18 would immediately help millions of impoverished South Africans.
“The national debate on social security should no longer be focused on whether we implement a basic income grant, but rather how we do so,” said South African Council of Churches parliamentary liaison Douglas Tilton.
The BIG coalition was presenting its preliminary, broadly positive, reaction to the Taylor report on a comprehensive social security system. The report supported the principle of a R100 universal basic income grant and recommended its phasing in by 2015. In addition, it recommended the extension of child support grants to all those under 18 years.
The report – described by the BIG coalition as “concise, wide-ranging and well-researched” – found more than 13-million South Africans live below the poverty line without access to social security, while the current grant system played a significant role in reducing some of the poverty.
The report was completed by the end of February, but only presented two weeks ago to Minister of Social Development Zola Skweyiya. The minister was supportive of the principle of a basic income grant, but cast doubt on whether it could be implemented in the short term.
Unfortunately, there has been little public engagement over the report findings aside from highlighting the difficulties of implementation, said Neil Coleman of the Congress of South African Trade Union.
The coalition has made several practical proposals on how the grant could be implemented, including restructuring the tax structure to release the needed cash that could be paid out through the Post Office or the smart card system initiated by the Department of Home Affairs.
The deadline for public comment on the report is June 15.