A SOUTH African expert panel has recommended the country gradually implement a basic income grant, beginning with the institutionalisation of a monthly welfare payment introduced last year to offset damage wrought by the coronavirus pandemic.
“There is no alternative to a system of income support for income-compromised adults from the ages of 18-59 as a permanent part of the social protection framework,” Alex van den Heever, the chair of social security systems administration and management studies at the University of Witwatersrand and a member of the panel, said Monday.
The panel was appointed by the Department of Social Development, the International Labor Organization and the United Nations-backed Joint Sustainable Development Goals Fund.
The monthly welfare payment of R350 ($21.82), which was reintroduced after civil unrest in July, is set to end in March.
Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana last month resisted calls by civil-society groups for increased welfare spending and for
You’ve reached your free article limit
Subscribe to enjoy unlimited access to trusted journalism. Cancel anytime.
Subscribe nowNeed help? molokom@insidepolitic.co.za
