The South African government is actively developing a permanent Basic Income Support (BIS) grant to replace the current Social Relief of Distress (SRD) grant, which currently serves as a financial lifeline for over 8.2 million people. Designed primarily as a jobseeker’s grant, this new framework aims to target the same vulnerable demographics while addressing the country's deep-rooted systemic dependency on state aid. Colleen Makhubele spoke to Siyanda Baduza - Basic Income Researcher for Institute for Economic Justice, Kgothatso Sibanda - Black Sash and Makone Maja - Institute Of Race Relations.