ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula has urged the government to introduce a basic income grant for young South Africans who leave school without matric. He made the call on 25 October 2026 at Emamnedwini Hall in uMshwathi, KwaZulu-Natal, ahead of the local government elections.
Addressing a gathering, Mbalula said the grant would act as a stipend to support youth who have no matric qualification, helping them to grow and avoid being left without hope. “Where we are going now, we are going towards a basic income grant because children are having children while they themselves are still young,” he said. “Those children, we are going to take them and give them a stipend in the form of a basic income grant so that they can grow. They mustn’t stay there without hope because they don’t have matric.”
His remarks come against a bleak backdrop marked by persistently high youth unemployment. Latest data from Statistics South Africa released on 11 August 2026 shows that unemployment among young people aged 15 to 34 rose to 47.4% in the second quarter of 2026. The number of unemployed youth increased by 264,000 to 5.0 million, while the number of employed youth dropped by 40,000 to 5.6 million.
A parliamentary committee reinforced these figures, confirming the youth unemployment rate had climbed from 45.8% to 47.4% between the first and second quarters of 2026. This worsening crisis feeds into calls for urgent, coordinated government action to support young people struggling to access stable employment.
Despite Mbalula’s calls, the government has not formalised a basic income grant for youth. The October 2026 medium-term budget policy statement announced an extension of the existing R370 social relief of distress (SRD) grant for another 18 months until March 2028 but stopped short of making it a permanent basic income grant or specifically targeting youth without matric.
The ambition behind Mbalula’s proposal highlights the urgent need for social protection measures to address the growing gap faced by young people excluded from formal education and employment. Many young South Africans leave school prematurely and face limited prospects in a labour market that offers few entry-level jobs. A basic income grant could provide crucial financial support while also easing social pressures connected to poverty and unemployment.
At this stage, the government has not officially committed to Mbalula’s proposed basic income grant policy. Treasury and Cabinet have yet to publish any detailed plan or costings indicating a permanent, targeted income grant for youth without matric. Cape Flats News will continue to monitor developments as the local elections approach and further economic measures are debated.