Prioriteit nommer een: Hoe ’n UBIG kan help om honger te verslaan

This fact sheet by the Institute for Economic Justice argues that food insecurity in South Africa is primarily a result of income poverty rather than food scarcity. It advocates for a Guaranteed Universal Basic Income (UBIG) to ensure all citizens can afford a nutritious diet, highlighting the severe health, social, and economic costs of malnutrition and the limitations of current targeted social grants.

• Food insecurity in South Africa is driven by income poverty and inequality rather than a lack of food production, as the country is considered food secure at a national level. However, household-level hunger remains high, with 23.1% of households and 26.2% of individuals reporting "limited access" to food in 2023.
• A significant portion of the population cannot afford a nutritious diet. The Council for Geosciences Research (RGN) estimates that 63.5% of South African households lack access to adequate nutrition. Furthermore, 64.7% of households spend less per person on food than the food poverty line (VAL) of R796 per month, while a basic nutritious food basket cost R923 per person in September 2024.
• Malnutrition has severe human and economic costs in South Africa. In the 2022/23 reporting cycle of the Department of Health, 1,000 children died from malnutrition and over 15,000 were hospitalized. Stunting affects 28.8% of children under 5, which is higher than the global average of 22.3%. Economically, the World Bank estimated that vitamin deficiencies alone caused annual losses of approximately US$1.1 billion (0.3% of GDP) in 2009.
• The document argues that a Guaranteed Universal Basic Income (UBIG) is necessary because current targeted grants are insufficient. Targeted grants for children (KOT) and older persons (OPT) are often pooled at the household level to support non-recipients, including caregivers, which dilutes their purchasing power. A UBIG would ensure that all adults, including those of working age, have the financial resources to meet basic needs.
• The author rejects the use of food vouchers in favor of cash transfers, describing vouchers as "paternalistic" and more prone to corruption and administrative complexity. Cash transfers are preferred because they stimulate local economies; for example, research in Philippi, Western Cape, showed that small and informal traders benefited significantly from grant recipients.
• Concerns that a UBIG would cause food price inflation are dismissed for South Africa, as the constraint is demand (due to poverty) rather than supply. The document cites a Kenyan UBI trial where prices rose only 0.1% over three years. It suggests that inflation risks are minimized if the program is funded through the redistribution of existing wealth (e.g., higher taxes on top earners) rather than new borrowing.
• While a UBIG is critical, it must be part of a broader policy response. This includes a "just food transition" (RVO) to address climate change vulnerabilities, regulating food prices to prevent price-gouging by supermarket chains, improving school nutrition programs, and investing in food cooperatives and basic infrastructure like water and sanitation.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2024). Prioriteit nommer een: Hoe ’n UBIG kan help om honger te verslaan. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/IEJ-UBIG-Factsheet-11-Afrikaans.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. Prioriteit nommer een: Hoe ’n UBIG kan help om honger te verslaan. 2024. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/IEJ-UBIG-Factsheet-11-Afrikaans.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=Prioriteit nommer een: Hoe ’n UBIG kan help om honger te verslaan |date=October 2024 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/IEJ-UBIG-Factsheet-11-Afrikaans.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforeconomicjustice2024prioriteit, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{Prioriteit nommer een: Hoe ’n UBIG kan help om honger te verslaan}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2024}, month = oct, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/IEJ-UBIG-Factsheet-11-Afrikaans.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }