Universal Basic Income Grant: What should a payment system look like?

In the first two instalments of this series, we examined the weakening of the social grants payment system in South Africa and how private companies are entering the space looking to profit from access to a still largely untapped market.

Access to online platforms for grant application and payments can reduce the time and money recipients spend applying for and accessing their grants and make it safer to do so.

Universal Basic Income Grant: who will profit?

The Post Office and Postbank have failed to manage the social grants payment system. But the private sector is not an easy fix either.

The failures of the Post Office and then Postbank have led to suggestions that the private sector should play a larger role in the payment of social grants. In this article we show that South Africa’s social grants history reveals the dangers of thinking private companies are the easy answer.

Universal Basic Income Grant: who should run it?

Public debate around a Universal Basic Income Grant (UBIG) has focused on fierce disagreements about its economic benefits, whether it is financially feasible for South Africa, and if so, what the value of the grant should be. As UBIG campaigning takes centre stage in the 2024 elections, Open Secrets asks an equally important but often overlooked question: who will administer the payment of those grants?

Capital Appreciation Ltd and GovChat: Follow the database — Part Two

In the final part of this two-part series, we take a deeper look at the ways GovChat might undergo a commercial revival, who might benefit from ownership of its database, and the implications this may hold for the South African social grants system.