Why all South Africans should back a basic income grant

There is growing interest in the concept of a basic income grant in SA, brought to the fore by the devastating effects of Covid-19. Many years after civil society and economic advisers first raised the debate, it is once again a proposal deserving our attention as we face up to the horrendous economic damage brought about by the pandemic, and the desperate plight of the majority of South Africans under the double burden of poverty and inequality.

The subject is so important that it should not be left only to organisations serving the interests of the poorest sectors of our society. Those interested in the topic should include businesses looking for markets, economists exploring different models, investors and entrepreneurs, and all people who seek to live in a society less fraught by division and strife. The petition will gather strength if it is endorsed by a wide cross-section of the population.

Those who already have an income from employment or investments could also use the additional spending power to boost expenditure, while increased tax revenue would accrue to the fiscus. The spurt of energy this could bring to the depressed state of the marketplace would be matched by a spirit of optimism and opportunity, urgently required to inspire hope and creative endeavours.

Can SA manage to extend this to provide a universal, cradle-to-grave basic income grant to every person at this stage of the pandemic? Possibly not, and this is the reason the Black Sash proposal, and the petition itself, calls for a more limited response, as follows:

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