Chairperson of Social Security Systems Administration at the Wits School of Governance and chairperson of the Expert Panel on Basic Income Support, Prof. Alex van den Heever, says the Basic Income Grant (BIG) does not lead to syndromic dependency.
This follows an uproar caused by last week’s leak from the President’s Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) in response to a request to provide President Cyril Ramaphosa with a brief ahead of the State of the Nation Address.
Van den Heever says most South Africans are unemployed, not by choice.
He says, “There are many instances in which people require some form of income support, you don’t necessarily expect them to be working. They are in a form of natural dependency, they’re looking after or bringing up children. But there are also people who become unemployed for reasons beyond their control.”
“So usually when you try to apply disincentive or a penalty to somebody who’s behaving badly or their conduct is something that is inappropriate, you do so because that conduct can actually respond to that incentive. When something is systemic, then you can’t because all you are doing is penalising somebody who is already disadvantaged and that’s the vast majority of unemployed South Africans today,” adds Van den Heever.
Below is the full interview with Prof. Alex van den Heever:
Unmeployment
Last year, the South African Communist Party (SACP) said it supports the call by a number of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) for the introduction of a Universal Basic Income Grant (UBIG).
The SACP said that unemployment is the most important challenge facing South Africa and must be met with a rapid emergency response.
SACP General Secretary Blade Nzimande said the R350 COVID-19 distress grant can be used as a foundation to put in place the Universal Basic Income Grant.
In the video below, Nzimande added that the Universal Basic Income Grant will act as an economic stimulus:
