Cape Town – Amandla.mobi, an independent community advocacy organisation that seeks to build a more just and people-powered Mzansi, has urged President Cyril Ramaphosa to implement a permanent basic income grant ahead of Thursday’s State of the Nation Address (SONA).
Business Day reports that since the start of the temporary R350 Covid-19 social relief of distress grant, civil society and unions have been calling on Ramaphosa to convert the grant into permanent income support.
In response to the calls, Ramaphosa promised in December last year, to address the basic income grant issue in his State of the Nation Address on Thursday, according to EWN.
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However, a leaked report from the Presidential Economic Advisory Council (PEAC) advised against implementing a permanent basic income grant due to the risks it poses to the country and the harm it would cause to economic growth and job creation, Business Day reported
“We face a real danger of policy error at a macroeconomic level where we will limit our economy’s growth and job-creation potential by increasing the system of social grants payments in an unsustainable manner,” the report quoted PEAC as saying.
Civil societies and labour unions have criticised PEAC’s report, saying it was “flawed”.
Amandla.mobi would also like to see the grant increased from R350 to R1 335.
“We propose that at least one person gets R1,335 per month. The people who say the government should not do it are basically promoting a high level of inequality in the country,” said Amandla.mobi campaigner Tlou Seopa, as quoted by EWN.
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Compiled by Sinothando Siyolo
