Covid-19 relief grant: big idea, big problem
Calls are mounting for the Covid-19 relief grant to be made permanent, given SA’s worsening humanitarian crisis. But where will the money come from?
09 July 2020 - 05:00
There is sympathy for the idea of a basic income grant (BIG), given the devastating impact Covid-19 is having on society, but the government would likely have to slash its wage bill to fund such an expansive policy. That alone could leave any plan stone dead.
The dream of extending social grants to unemployed adults has been on the ANC’s agenda for more than a decade. It inched a step closer after the meeting last weekend of the national executive committee, with the party resolving that its social and economic transformation committees consider the feasibility of a BIG...
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