EFF wants parliament involved in basic income grant plan

The EFF wants a parliamentary process to guide how the country will implement a basic income grant.

The party’s deputy president Floyd Shivambu said the process cannot be left solely to the executive to make a decision, saying none of these programmes ever see the light of day.

“That discussion should not be reduced to the executive. Parliament has to engage itself in the discussions around the basic income grant. We need to start a parliamentary process of how we introduce a basic income grant, and it must be a grant, not the R350 introduced thus far," Shivambu said, referring to the Covid-19 social relief of distress payments introduced in the wake of the pandemic.

Shivambu was speaking outside the Cape Town City Hall, where President Cyril Ramaphosa is expected to deliver his sixth state of the nation address at about 7pm.

Ramaphosa is expected to make an announcement on the R350 grant, with stakeholders including Cosatu calling for its extension beyond March.

Shivambu said there had to be a basic income grant act borne out of a parliamentary process.

“We must not fold our arms and wait for the executive, because most times the things done by the executive end up nowhere.

“You have to take a parliamentary process and ultimately end up with a basic income grant act so it's law to provide for all the people who are not finding employment,” he said.

Shivambu said the EFF would be in present in the city hall to listen to the “lies” Ramaphosa will tell the country. He said the situation was worsening under Ramaphosa, who he accused of making commitments which have not materialised, including on jobs.

“Literally everything under Ramaphosa is collapsing. Poverty levels are deepening and generally there’s crisis. The security sector is in tatters.

“We’re not expecting anything. He [Ramaphosa] does not know what he is doing. He is not steering this ship towards a proper direction."

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