A Basic Income Grant could redefine what it means to be South African
There is a real sense in which social security in the form of cash transfers contributes to a feeling of citizenship among beneficiaries. This phenomenon becomes meaningful in the South African context, where 28 years of failed economic policy largely favouring austerity has done little to combat nationwide inequality and poverty.
In international law, a citizen is broadly defined as a person whom a state is entitled to protect. In following the law, with respect to the responsibilities it demands, we afford the status of legal citizenship from the state and thus become entitled to its protection.
However, from the perspective of South Africa’s post-aparteid society, does this legal status go far enough in ensuring real inclusion in societal life?
- What is the right to basic nutrition when half of child hospital deaths are associated with moderate or severe acute malnutrition?[1]
- What does the right to health mean when only 9,3% of the black population in South (80% of the entire population) have access to medical aid?[2]
- What exactly does the right to education mean when only 7% of adults have a tertiary education?[3]
Accordingly, there are growing calls for a new social compact to be formed that redefines the citizen-state relationship in South Africa.
‘Dancing out-of step with the Constitution’
A popular way to phrase the citizen-state relationship is as a sort of ‘contract’. This political theory holds that our relationships with our governments (and each other) are governed by a consensual agreement which outlines the duties and obligations we all have in achieving a state of civil society. A national constitution is the binding manifestation of this agreement, shining the path to social cohesion under the rule of law.
But how far is South Africa along this path? According to the Indlulamithi Barometer, a project tracking social cohesion in South Africa, of the three available future scenarios the country is edging closer to ‘Gwara Gwara’ – a state of disorder and decay. This is mainly driven by the remarkably high levels of social inequality in the country.
Phrased differently, South Africa is dancing out-of-step with its constitution. The people can no longer hear the beat of the Bill of Rights, nor the symphony of social harmony promised in 1994. Everybody is just dancing.
We need BIG-ger moves
It is widely agreed that the time for a new social compact has come. Much of the debate now stems around how this would look in practice. Among the available options presented, new ideas in the social security space seem promising.
In its latest working paper, the Social Policy Initiative (SPI) advocates for an unconditional Basic Income Grant (BIG) of R1335 (the Upper Bound Poverty Line) for all South Africans. Although the paper frames a BIG as a macroeconomic policy, it also highlights the social implications of such a transfer.
‘Under the preferred option, a… [BIG for Adults & Children] would eliminate income poverty in three years, radically change the lives of millions of people and become by far South Africa’s most transformative policy since 1994. It would achieve Martin Luther King’s dream of abolishing poverty directly. The BIG would provide a dignity floor below which no South African should fall.’
From Social Security to a Sense of Citizenship
The SPI paper builds on decades of research looking at the impact of cash-based social security schemes globally and, more recently, in South Africa. For instance, recent research on one of South Africa’s most extensive state cash transfers schemes, the Child Support Grant (CSG) has found that social grants play a significant role in shaping social relations. From the perspectives of the CSG recipients, cash transfers bring together two important symbolic concepts: redistribution and recognition.
On the surface, cash transfers represent ‘proof’ of redistribution efforts by the state. More deeply, they contribute to the feeling of recognition among recipients as dignified rights-holders in the context of undignifying social conditions.
There is therefore a real sense in which social security in the form of cash transfers contribute to a feeling of citizenship among beneficiaries. This phenomenon becomes meaningful in the South African context, where 28 years of failed economic policy largely favouring austerity has done little to combat nationwide inequality and poverty.
At what cost?
The SPI working paper estimates that a BIG would cost an estimated R537.8 billion or 2.5% of GDP over the next three years. Critics of the BIG argue that such funds would be better spent in the provision of basic public services like water, health and education.
Crucially, a BIG would only have its desired impact as part of a larger basket of high quality universal public services. This would in turn lock-in the anticipated economic stimulus in the years to come. But what a basic income grant offers South Africans beyond the norm is the direct financial capacity to access water, health and education, and more effectively participate in the economy. It offers the ability to secure your own dignity, and reimagine what being a South African citizen could mean to you.
[1] https://static.pmg.org.za/2/220301Nutrition_and_food_security.pdf
[2] https://www.statssa.gov.za/?p=15261
[3] https://www.oecd.org/education/education-at-a-glance/EAG2019_CN_ZAF.pdf
