UBIC joint statement: draft amendments to the SRD regulations opposed

The Universal Basic Income Coalition (UBIC) opposes draft amendments to the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant regulations. While the amendments extend the grant until 2025, UBIC argues they introduce punitive measures, fail to address the grant's inadequate value relative to inflation, and maintain exclusionary practices that prevent millions from accessing support.

• The draft amendments extend the Covid-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant until 2025 but introduce punitive clauses, including the power for the government to recover funds from beneficiaries deemed to have benefited "irregularly" or who were not entitled to the benefit.
• The current SRD grant value of R350 is considered inadequate as it has not been adjusted for inflation since 2020, leaving it at less than half of the minimum amount required to avoid starvation (the food poverty line).
• Proposed regulations allow the government to cancel applications not paid out after 90 days if the applicant is untraceable or has not updated details. UBIC notes that approximately 13% of beneficiaries experience non-payment, often due to poor administration or inaccurate fraud databases rather than beneficiary error.
• UBIC attributes the high rates of grant exclusion and the failure to increase the grant value to pressure from the National Treasury on the Department of Social Development (DSD) and the South African Social Security Agency (SASSA) to adhere to an inadequate budget allocation.

APA

Weyers, D., Kas, M., & Raiters, E. (2024). UBIC joint statement: draft amendments to the SRD regulations opposed. Institute for Economic Justice. https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/ubic-joint-statement-draft-amendments-to-the-srd-regulations-opposed/

Chicago

Weyers, Dalli, Moses Kas, and Elizabeth Raiters. UBIC joint statement: draft amendments to the SRD regulations opposed. Institute for Economic Justice, 2024. https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/ubic-joint-statement-draft-amendments-to-the-srd-regulations-opposed/.

Wikipedia

{{cite press release |last1=Weyers |first1=Dalli |last2=Kas |first2=Moses |last3=Raiters |first3=Elizabeth |title=UBIC joint statement: draft amendments to the SRD regulations opposed |publisher=Institute for Economic Justice |date=16 February 2024 |url=https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/ubic-joint-statement-draft-amendments-to-the-srd-regulations-opposed/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@misc{weyers2024ubic, author = {Weyers, Dalli and Kas, Moses and Raiters, Elizabeth}, title = {{UBIC joint statement: draft amendments to the SRD regulations opposed}}, publisher = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2024}, month = feb, url = {https://iej.org.za/press-room/statements/ubic-joint-statement-draft-amendments-to-the-srd-regulations-opposed/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }