UBIC Statement | Uncertainty over SRD Grant's Future as Clock Ticks for Beneficiaries | IEJ

The Unconditional Basic Income Coalition (UBIC) expresses concern over the lack of clarity regarding the future of South Africa's Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, which is set to expire in March 2026. UBIC opposes government proposals to link the grant to employment or offer lump-sum payments, arguing that unconditional cash transfers are the most effective way to address poverty and structural unemployment.

• The Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant is scheduled to expire in March 2026, affecting approximately 8 million beneficiaries. UBIC argues that the government has created an "information vacuum" regarding the grant's future and calls for the November Medium Term Budget Policy Statement (MTBPS) to clarify how the grant will be transitioned into a comprehensive basic income.
• The South African government is considering several alternatives to the current SRD grant, including turning it into a "job-seeker’s" allowance where eligibility depends on proving a job search, and introducing "employment linkages" to livelihoods. These proposals include a revised policy from the Department of Social Development (DSD) and references in a leaked draft Growth and Inclusion (GAIN) Strategy to an "augmented" grant with employment links or lump-sum transfer options.
• UBIC opposes linking social grants to employment, stating that the primary purpose of grants is to provide a safety net and meet basic needs rather than create jobs. They argue that structural unemployment is caused by a lack of available jobs—citing a case where over one million applications were submitted for 5,000 South African Police Service (SAPS) posts—rather than a lack of effort by job seekers.
• UBIC claims that unconditional cash transfers are more effective at creating livelihoods than employment-linking programmes. They cite a World Bank study on South African employment-linking programmes which found they largely failed to benefit the most marginalised despite costing over R100 billion, which is three times the current SRD grant budget.
• UBIC warns that attaching conditions to the grant would create a poverty trap, disincentivise entrepreneurship, and disadvantage family caregivers, such as mothers of young children, who cannot work full-time. Additionally, they argue that lump-sum payment options would be problematic as beneficiaries would receive less over the long term compared to indefinite monthly payments.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2025). UBIC Statement | Uncertainty over SRD Grant's Future as Clock Ticks for Beneficiaries | IEJ. https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/ubic-statement-uncertainty-over-srdgrants-future/

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. UBIC Statement | Uncertainty over SRD Grant's Future as Clock Ticks for Beneficiaries | IEJ. 2025. https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/ubic-statement-uncertainty-over-srdgrants-future/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=UBIC Statement | Uncertainty over SRD Grant's Future as Clock Ticks for Beneficiaries | IEJ |date=5 November 2025 |url=https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/ubic-statement-uncertainty-over-srdgrants-future/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{instituteforeconomicjustice2025ubic, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{UBIC Statement | Uncertainty over SRD Grant's Future as Clock Ticks for Beneficiaries | IEJ}}, publisher = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2025}, month = nov, url = {https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/ubic-statement-uncertainty-over-srdgrants-future/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }