Good News You will Get a New Grant for R999 Now For Basic Income

Good News You will Get a New Grant for R999 Now For Basic Income.Amidst the escalating cost of living and the pressing concern of unemployment, around 8 million South Africans are grappling with joblessness and finding it challenging to meet their basic necessities. Addressing this critical situation, a political party has presented a significant proposal to enhance the basic income grant.

The GOOD party has launched a campaign advocating for a basic income grant, which is expected to be one of their main priorities leading up to the upcoming general elections next year.

Good News You will Get a New Grant for R999 Now For Basic Income

ntroducing the “GOOD deal,” the GOOD party proposes a crucial basic income grant of R999, emphasizing its feasibility and necessity. The party strongly argues that providing cash directly to impoverished individuals with no income is the most direct and impactful way to assist them.

Brett Herron, Secretary General of the GOOD Party, highlights that the government is falling short in fulfilling its responsibility to support the impoverished population, thereby failing to uphold the constitutional obligation of providing assistance to those who cannot sustain themselves.

As outlined in Section 27 of the South African Constitution:

Section 27. (1) Every individual has the right to access: (a) healthcare services, including reproductive healthcare; (b) sufficient food and water; and (c) social security, which includes appropriate social assistance for individuals unable to support themselves and their dependents.

More About R999 Grant

As per the National Development Plan, the objective is to eradicate the situation where any South African falls below the lower-bound poverty line, and it is this goal that informs the R999 figure.

In 2022, the lower-bound poverty line was estimated to be R945 per month. In contrast, the current Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant falls short of even half this amount.According to Herron, the R999 grant is intended to cover the lower-bound poverty line with a small additional sum allocated for transportation costs, primarily for job-seeking purposes.

Currently, beneficiaries of the SRD grant receive R350 per month. Herron highlights that this amount has remained unchanged since its introduction in 2020 and is funded until 31 March 2024. As of April 2022, the estimated food poverty line stood at R663 per person per month. Clearly, the R350 monthly grant falls significantly short of meeting about half of the current estimated food poverty line.The political party aims to make the R999 grant accessible to unemployed South Africans aged between 18 and 60.

Who’s gonna pay for the grant?

Herron has revealed that the GOOD party conducted an in-depth research analysis to determine the viability of funding a basic income grant through the national budget. The research findings suggest that the enhanced grant could be supported by cutting down expenses associated with provincial legislatures, provincial executives, and resources allocated to the offices of the premiers.

Herron proposes the implementation of a zero-based budgeting approach and the elimination of inefficient government programs that fail to deliver adequate returns on investment. This might entail streamlining the number of ministers, ministries, and departments, among other necessary measures.

Additionally, Herron mentioned several potential interventions that the government could implement, including:

• Exploring tax reforms, such as considering an increase in corporate taxes.
• Enhancing the professionalism of the public service to reduce reliance on costly consultants, which currently amounts to around R11 billion per year.
• Addressing corruption and considering privatization as an alternative to continuously bailing out and sustaining dysfunctional state-owned enterprises.

With some adjustments to the existing tax system, the Good Party believes that the government can indeed afford to provide the basic income grant. However, the party has determined that R999 is the maximum amount that the grant can reach with funding from the National Budget.

In terms of budgetary impact, this grant would cost approximately R100 billion per year. Considering South Africa’s annual budget expenditure of R2.24 trillion, the grant would account for only 2% of the overall budget.