Universal Basic Income Coalition Position paper

The Universal Basic Income Coalition (UBIC) advocates for a rights-based social protection floor in South Africa, specifically a universal basic income (UBI) for adults aged 18-59. The coalition argues that current systems leave a gap for able-bodied working-age adults, contributing to extreme poverty and inequality. They propose a grant that is universal, unconditional, and redistributive, funded through progressive taxation rather than regressive measures like VAT. The UBIC suggests a progressive realization of this goal, starting with the expansion of the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, with the ultimate target of pegging the grant value to the Upper Bound Poverty Line (UBPL). They emphasize that UBI should be an individual rather than household-based payment to protect women's autonomy and should be part of a broader wellbeing framework including job creation and improved public services.

• South Africa suffers from a critical gap in social protection for able-bodied adults aged 18 to 59, leaving millions vulnerable to food poverty. This is exacerbated by a structural unemployment rate of 42.1% as of the second quarter of 2023, with 77.3% of active job seekers being long-term unemployed.
• The UBIC demands a universal basic income that is unconditional, meaning it is not tied to behaviors such as job-seeking activities. They argue that conditionalities are paternalistic and ignore the fact that the primary barrier to employment in South Africa is a lack of available jobs rather than a lack of motivation.
• To ensure the grant is redistributive and stimulates economic growth, it must be funded through non-regressive measures. The coalition opposes funding UBI through VAT or cuts to public services, suggesting instead progressive taxation on the wealthiest individuals and corporations, wealth taxes, or financial transaction taxes.
• The coalition proposes that the grant value be pegged to national poverty lines to avoid creating a poverty trap. They recommend starting the grant at the Food Poverty Line (FPL) and progressively increasing it to the Upper Bound Poverty Line (UBPL) to eliminate income poverty.
• UBI should be provided as an individual payment rather than a household grant. Individual payments are preferred because household-level grants can increase women's financial dependence on men and exacerbate gender-based violence, and are more prone to administrative corruption and exclusion errors.
• The UBIC advocates for the 'progressive realisation' of universality, suggesting the government use the COVID-19 Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant as a stepping stone. They call for the SRD's means-test threshold to be raised to at least the UBPL and eventually removed entirely to achieve full universality.
• A basic income grant is not a standalone solution but must be part of a broader wellbeing framework. This includes maintaining parity between the UBI and the Child Support Grant (CSG) to avoid increasing the care burden on women, and combining the grant with industrial policies and 'active labour market policies' to boost decent job creation.

APA

Institute for Economic Justice (2023). Universal Basic Income Coalition Position paper. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/UBIC-Position-Paper.pdf

Chicago

Institute for Economic Justice. Universal Basic Income Coalition Position paper. 2023. https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/UBIC-Position-Paper.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Institute for Economic Justice |title=Universal Basic Income Coalition Position paper |date=October 2023 |url=https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/UBIC-Position-Paper.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{instituteforeconomicjustice2023universal, author = {{Institute for Economic Justice}}, title = {{Universal Basic Income Coalition Position paper}}, institution = {Institute for Economic Justice}, year = {2023}, month = oct, url = {https://iej.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/UBIC-Position-Paper.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }