Mail & Guardian
Mail & Guardian
universal basic incomelatest news & developments
The future of the Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant beyond the March 2027 extension remains uncertain. Archive photo: Chris Gilili
BASIC INCOME SUPPORT

Future of SRD grant uncertain, treasury says

The Universal Basic Income Coalition said the government’s proposals to link the grant to employment-related conditions could exclude eligible beneficiaries

  • Marecia Damons
3 min read
Gustavo Petro speaks at an event after the 2022 Congressional elections in Colombia, on March 13, 2022. (Photo by: Sebastian Barros/Long Visual Press/Universal Images Group via Getty Images)
ALVARO GARCIA LINERA

Colombian left ascends to power by uniting progressive forces

The fourth instalment on lessons for the left shows how the Colombian left built a successful electoral project in face of brutal opposition from entrenched elites backed by US…

  • Imraan Buccus
7 min read
The number of SRD applications has been growing steadily since its introduction in 2020. The 17 million applications mark was passed three months ago, but the real story is that the number of grants approved has not grown in a long time.
GDP

SA’s poor urgently need a decent universal basic income grant

The decision to provide a grant of R1 634, the upper bound poverty line, rests in the hands of the elite

  • Isobel Frye
8 min read
Spend more: People wait for transport after buying food with child grants. A universal income will boost the country’s economic recovery. Photo: Per-Anders Pettersson/Getty Images
ARTICLE

Is social security spending too high?

The country needs a universal basic income for adults and children to boost economic recovery and growth and reduce inequality

  • Nomahlubi Jakuja
5 min read
Hard slog: Amazon workers, like garbage collectors, nurses and cleaners, have little choice but to work punishingly long hours because their pay is low. (Peter Macdiarmid/Getty Images)
EVOLUTION

Our ancestors worked less and had better lives. What are we doing wrong?

In an age of both untold prosperity and existential crisis, it’s time to rethink work

  • Ståle Wig
10 min read
A picture taken in Vosloorus, southeast of Johannesburg, on July 12, 2021 shows the Gold Spot Shopping Centre after being looted. – South Africa said it was deploying troops to two provinces, including Johannesburg, after unrest sparked by the jailing of ex-president Jacob Zuma led to six deaths and widespread looting. Overwhelmed police are facing mobs who have ransacked stores. Six people have died, some with gunshot wounds, and 219 people have been arrested, according to a police tally issued before the army deployed. (Photo by GUILLEM SARTORIO / AFP) (Photo by GUILLEM SARTORIO/AFP via Getty Images)
ZUMAUNREST

The looting of shops during protests is a greater societal problem than meets the eye

This is not a protest, it is a ripple effect of poverty

  • Aluwani Chokoe
3 min read