ActionSA has expressed concerns with the latest GDP figures, accusing the Government of National Unity (GNU) of “sitting on its hands” while the economy stagnated.

Statistics South Africa on Tuesday reported that the country’s GDP increased by 0.4% between October and December 2025.

The economy grew by 1.1% in 2025, an improvement from 0.5% growth in 2024.

However, ActionSA Member of Parliament Alan Beesley stated that nearly two years into its tenure, the GNU has “yet to present a credible, coherent plan” to lift the country out of a low-growth trap.

“Instead, South Africans are left to watch the listless economy drift, unemployment remains entrenched, and businesses struggle to survive,” he said.

He pointed out that with GDP growing by only 1.1% in 2025, against a population growth of around 1.4% to 1.5%, GDP per capita is “effectively shrinking”.

Beesley said the sectoral breakdown is alarming.

“Manufacturing contracted by 1.2% in 2025, signalling persistent weakness in a key productive sector. Even more concerning is construction, which shrank by 4.4%, leaving a historically vital job-creating industry in freefall, despite claims to have turned SA into a construction site,” he said.

He argued that these declines reflect a government that has failed to create the conditions necessary for investment, growth, and employment.

He said South Africa’s stagnation is in contrast to the global environment.

“Emerging and developing economies are growing at roughly 4%, and Sub-Saharan Africa is expanding at a similar pace. South Africa’s weak performance is not inevitable but the direct result of policy paralysis and a government unable to implement a coherent economic reform agenda,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Government Communication and Information System (GCIS) welcomed the latest GDP data, attributing the growth to partnerships between government and business.

The GCIS noted that the fourth quarter performance marks the fifth consecutive quarter of economic growth, which it said signalled continued resilience in the economy despite a challenging global environment.

On the production side of the economy, growth was largely driven by key service-related sectors, including finance, real estate and business services; trade, catering and accommodation; and personal services.

The GCIS explained that positive contributions were also recorded in agriculture and general government services.

“On the expenditure side, economic expansion was supported by increased household spending, growth in gross fixed capital formation, and higher government consumption, which collectively contributed to the positive quarterly outcome,” it said.

The GCIS pointed out that the fourth quarter performance helped lift annual GDP growth to 1.1% in 2025, the highest annual growth rate since 2022, when the economy expanded by 2.1%.

“Government believes that the reforms that are being implemented through Operation Vulindlela and government/business partnerships are enablers of this sustained growth,” the GCIS said.