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A basic income grant could be a priority for the new government, report card shows

Fourteen organisations supporting a basic income grant (the Universal Basic Income Coalition) have found ActionSA, the ANC and the Good party have passed with an ‘A’ for good ideas on implementing a basic income grant.
A basic income grant could be a priority for the new government, report card shows

The parties holding the top six slots in election polls all support a basic income grant, indicating that it will likely become one of the first big equity policies adopted after a new government is sworn in. 

The top six are the ANC, DA, EFF, MK, IFP and Action SA. They all support some form of basic income grant but were scored unevenly by the basic income coalition.

The ANC and Action SA scored eight out of a possible 12 from the Universal Basic Income Coalition (Ubic). The ANC’s partner in national government, Good, also scored eight (an “A”). The EFF, a potential coalition partner of the ANC, scored a “C” from Ubic.

The DA also proposes a form of basic income but only scored 2/12 (“D”) as it attaches many conditions to such a grant. The IFP scored 3/12. (Also a “D”).

The DA, IFP and Action SA are part of the Multi-Party Charter which supports a basic income grant.  

This suggests that in a country with an expanded unemployment rate of over 40% (including people who have become discouraged from looking for work), the idea of a basic income grant is becoming more widely accepted.

Read more in Daily Maverick: 2024 elections

“South Africa needs a basic income grant. More than half the population lives in poverty, with at least 17 million adults living below the food poverty line. Sixty percent of people in South Africa believe the government should introduce such a grant,” said the coalition as it launched its report card. 

basic income grant

Ten of the 19 parties it analysed committed to expanded “social protections”, while five fully backed a grant. 

“This moment of huge potential sets South Africa apart from peer countries. If a universal basic income grant becomes a reality after the election, it would position South Africa as a leader in charting a new path of inclusive growth,” the 14 organisations said. 

The coalition has set out 12 principles for a basic income grant: 


  • Must expand social protection;

  • Have a clear plan and time frame for implementation;

  • Be of adequate value (above the food poverty line of R760);

  • Be universal for people aged 18 to 59 years old – from 60, people can go onto the old age pension grant;

  • Be available to all living in poverty;

  • Have no conditionalities;

  • Be funded in a redistributive way (such as through a wealth tax);

  • Be paid to individuals;

  • Have no unfair exclusions;

  • Must protect data (under State Capture, rogue companies sold grantees’ data);

  • Must retain, not replace, other social grants; and

  • Must build on the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant.


South Africa leads the developing world in building a social solidarity system. Nineteen million people currently receive a grant, while the Presidency’s 30-year review says the R350 Social Relief of Distress grant increased the pool to 26 million people.

The ANC, likely to get the most votes even though polls show it will lose its majority, says it will build on the SRD grant.

Ubic failed the following parties for not including adequate social protection in their plans: ACDP, AIC (African Independent Congress – an ANC ally), ATM, Mmusi Maimane’s Bosa, Cope, FF+, PAC, Gayton McKenzie’s Patriotic Alliance and Songezo Zibi’s Rise Mzansi. DM

Comments (7)

ziphovuku03@gmail.com May 16, 2024, 06:41 PM

Nationalization of mines could help the basic income grant funding.

mfswan@live.com May 16, 2024, 12:52 PM

To quote Margret Thatcher Ferial, there is no such thing as a free lunch, somebody pays for it.

Geoff Coles May 16, 2024, 09:05 AM

Who doesn't like to receive, especially if somebody else is giving.....but where is the funding coming from

megapode May 16, 2024, 09:02 AM

There have been and are projects where people receive a grant each month. These are monitored, and the feedback is overwhelmingly positive. In poor rural areas in East Africa, small businesses spring up, because there are now customers who can pay. The Nixon administration, of all people, trialled a BIG way back when. They canned it because, they said, it raised the divorce rate. What actually happened was that women who were in bad situations but were kept at home and had no money of their own suddenly had enough money that they could start to explore options. Good, caring relationships were not being broken up, abusive relationships were.

megapode May 16, 2024, 08:59 AM

The grant MUST be unconditional. The poorest must get it, and the richest, and everybody in between. It will clawed back in tax for those who don't really need it. BUT making it unconditional (on minimally conditional, say over 18 and a permanent resident) makes it easy to administer and removes incentives for corruption. You don't have to give some official a backhander to get something you would automatically get.

jamesmichael975 May 16, 2024, 08:42 AM

People need JOBS and their dignity. Grants are not helpfull or sustainable

Thinker and Doer May 16, 2024, 08:41 AM

The fundamental question that is not asked, is why there is a need for 26 million people to depend on grants? That is absolutely shocking, not something for the government to be proud of! It is because the government is completely incapable of addressing the structural issues in the economy that have resulted in such astronomical levels of unemployment, especially for young people. The focus needs to be on addressing these structural issues so jobs can be created, but it is far easier for the government to just promise more grants. It also makes people dependent upon the ANC, which suits the party very well.