Speech by GOOD MP Shaun August during GOOD’s debate in Parliament to implement a Basic Income Grant.
12 March 2021
Honourable Chairperson,
Honourable the Minister of Social Development
Members of the House
Thank you for the opportunity to present a debate on the GOOD Party’s call for the urgent implementation of a Basic Income Grant.
Before I begin, on behalf of GOOD I would like to express our deepest condolences to the royal family and Zulu nation on the passing of His Majesty King Goodwill Zwelithini. May he rest in peace.
Honourable Chair
In the toughest of economic times that we are now in, we know that there will be people who question if the country can afford it.
In our view that question is incorrectly framed. It should be: Can we afford not to…
This is not a new debate. In 2002, the Taylor Committee Report recommended implementing a Basic Income Grant, but the government of the day had other priorities such as funding the arms deal.
At the time, the poverty level was in decline.
But, for the past decade, the most vulnerable members of our population have faced increasing difficulties to feed, clothe and shelter their families.
StatsSA and World Bank data of the past 10 years record rising unemployment, declining per capita GDP and an increasing proportion of South Africans living in poverty.
One in four South Africans live below the poverty line, according to the Human Rights Commission.
Then, when we could least afford it, the Covid pandemic struck to expose how serious it really is.
The chronic situation that we’re in is not because we are a poor country, without any resources.
It is because of poor decision-making by government. It is because government prioritised other things, besides haemorrhaging vast sums of money to its looting brigade.
Among apartheid’s defining characteristics was inequality. Twenty-seven years into our democracy we remain the most unequal society on earth.
With precious few exceptions, the racial pattern of inequality mimics that of apartheid.
It is a grotesque betrayal of the poor. And it is unsustainable.
It is unsustainable for families to be expected to survive on fresh air alone, without any money.
It is unsustainable to send children to school with just sugary tea in their stomachs.
It is unsustainable for the unemployed to seek work if they can’t afford a train ticket, or data to submit their CV.
It is unconscionable to live in such an unequal society.
For how long do we imagine we can stretch this rubber band before it snaps?
Honourable members…
We have to start somewhere, and one of the good things the Covid lockdown delivered was to amplify the crisis that is the daily lived reality of poor families.
It forced government to confront the necessity for urgent relief of the poor and this resulted in the implementation of the temporary Covid-19 Social Relief grant
Now we must make this temporary relief permanent. The sooner we do so, the sooner we demonstrate our compassion and commitment to justice for all, the sooner we can begin to build the bridges of common purpose that a sustainable society needs.
Researchers say that if we implemented a Basic Income Grant in 2002, many people would have been able to struggle their way out of poverty by now.
We cannot change the past, but we can change the future.
Honourable Chairperson…
A basic income grant is a matter of life and death for those who do not know where their next meal will come from.
It is a means to restore dignity, alleviate trauma and provide a glimmer of hope for a better life.
It is time for government to take GOOD decisions that will create stable foundations for inclusive growth. Decisions that are GOOD for rich and poor South Africans alike, that recognise the inherent dignity of all, and our dependence on each other.
We already provide grants to the elderly, disabled and to children. In many instances these grants are the only income sustaining extended families.
But many of our most vulnerable citizens aren’t elderly, disabled or with children. They are unemployed, youth and adults, who are marginalised and starving.
With an official unemployment rate of 32%, millions of our compatriots fall into this category.
What is our message to them? What should they do?
Honourable Chairperson…
GOOD is disappointed the Covid-19 grants are scheduled to stop. This is a mistake. What happens in May and June? Chronic poverty won’t simply disappear.
The temporary Covid-19 grants have been hugely important. The process has developed databases and contact details for the most vulnerable people in the country, and the technological ability to distribute the relief.
Now we must find a way to implement the temporary grant as a permanent Basic Income Grant,
The B.I.G. must be developed with all of our social partners involvement, including Nedlac, the Department of Social Development and civil society organisations.
Of course, the big question is how to fund it?
The reported R500 Billion lost to corruption and mismanagement before, places this number into perspective.
This huge amount of money proves we can afford a BIG, if this government directs its budgets to where they are most needed.
If our law enforcement agencies could recover this money lost to corruption it would make an excellent start.
Thereafter, it’s about weighing priorities. It’s about managing government’s expenditure on itself, managing waste, maladministration and corruption.
But, mostly, it’s about realising that no nation can thrive when millions of its people are suffering. Just as no plane can take off without fuel in the tank.
It’s not about charity, but nec7essity. And it will benefit us all.
GOOD therefore calls on all political parties, to support a Basic Income Grant.
It shouldn’t be about politics, but about our common, basic humanity. We cannot leave out citizens to starve on the streets.
Twenty seven years ago we celebrated what we termed the new South Africa. We have made mistakes and taken each other for granted.
Implementing a Basic Income Grant affords us the opportunity for a new beginning. To create a sustainable country in which all people are regarded as equally precious.