Taelo ya gore motho o swanetše go bontšha gore o tsoma mošomo ke molao o mobe

The Institute for Economic Justice (IEJ) argues that requiring social grant recipients in South Africa to prove they are actively seeking work is a flawed policy. The document contends that unemployment in South Africa is structural rather than a result of individual effort, noting an expanded unemployment rate of 42.6% (12.38 million people). It asserts that job-seeking conditions create high administrative costs, penalize caregivers—particularly women—and may force workers into low-wage, exploitative employment. The IEJ advocates for an unconditional Universal Basic Income Guarantee (UBIG) as a constitutional right, contrasting this with proposals from the World Bank, National Treasury, and certain political parties to replace the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant with conditional job-seeker support.

• Unemployment in South Africa is structural, meaning the economy fails to create enough jobs regardless of the efforts of job seekers. The 'expanded' unemployment rate is 42.6%, representing 12.38 million people, with 76.2% of those not actively seeking work classified as 'long-term unemployed' (unemployed for over a year).
• Job-seeking requirements are financially impractical for recipients because the cost of searching for work often exceeds the value of the grant. For youth, monthly job-seeking costs can reach R1,469, while the SRD grant is only R370.
• Conditionality in social grants can lead to 'downward pressure' on wages and employment quality, potentially forcing recipients to accept exploitative, low-wage work because they cannot risk losing their basic survival support.
• Job-seeking requirements disproportionately harm caregivers, especially women, who perform essential but unpaid care work. Forcing these individuals to seek formal employment threatens fragile care networks and exacerbates gender inequality.
• The document argues that social assistance is a constitutional right in South Africa under Section 27(1), and making it conditional on behavior (like job-seeking) undermines this right and stigmatizes the poor.
• The IEJ criticizes proposals from the World Bank, National Treasury, and parties like the Democratic Alliance to replace the SRD grant with a conditional job-seeker grant, arguing these measures are designed to reduce the number of beneficiaries and cut social protection costs.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2024). Taelo ya gore motho o swanetše go bontšha gore o tsoma mošomo ke molao o mobe. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/IEJ-UBIG-Factsheet-9-Sepedi.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. Taelo ya gore motho o swanetše go bontšha gore o tsoma mošomo ke molao o mobe. 2024. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/IEJ-UBIG-Factsheet-9-Sepedi.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=Taelo ya gore motho o swanetše go bontšha gore o tsoma mošomo ke molao o mobe |date=October 2024 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/IEJ-UBIG-Factsheet-9-Sepedi.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforeconomicjustice2024taelo, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{Taelo ya gore motho o swanetše go bontšha gore o tsoma mošomo ke molao o mobe}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2024}, month = oct, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/IEJ-UBIG-Factsheet-9-Sepedi.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }