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The latest unemployment figures confirm what South Africans already know—our economy has stalled, with negligible GDP growth and unacceptably high unemployment. The hard truth is that the so-called Government of National Unity (GNU) has done nothing to change the disastrous trajectory set by the ANC despite claims to the contrary. Instead, it has merely extended the same failed policies that continue to cripple our economy.

According to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey released by StatsSA today, South Africa’s official unemployment rate decreased by a meaningless 0.2 percentage points, from 32.1% in Q3 2024 to 31.9% in Q4 2024. Meanwhile, the expanded unemployment rate remains alarmingly high at 41.9%, and the share of young people (15–34 years) who are Not in Employment, Education, or Training (NEET) has increased from 42.2% to 42.9% over the past year. This is not progress—it is stagnation, and it is failing South Africans.

The GNU’s defenders insisted that contestation from within the GNU would bring change. Yet, almost 250 days later, nothing material has changed. If opposition parties within the GNU feel powerless and co-opted, ActionSA invites them to join us in holding this government accountable. South Africans deserve real solutions, not more empty promises and the continuation along a well-worn path of failed policies and inept implementation. Tomorrow’s Budget must reflect a genuine plan to get our unemployed citizens back to work.

But let’s be clear: the problem is not a lack of funding. Across all spheres of government, billions are wasted and looted with impunity. Even within the Cabinet, Ministers who have failed in other spheres of government—or have been implicated in corruption and had judgments against them—remain protected without consequence. If the Finance Minister fails to act decisively against fraud, corruption, and maladministration—ensuring that those accused of looting face prosecution, prison, and repayment of ill-gotten gains—South Africans can expect yet another four years of economic decline, empty commitments, and worsening joblessness.

This culture of impunity was once again laid bare this month when the Auditor-General exposed shocking mismanagement in the Compensation Fund and the Unemployment Insurance Fund (UIF). Instead of protecting vulnerable workers, these institutions have become hotbeds of mass corruption, robbing struggling South Africans of their financial security and dignity.

ActionSA cannot stand by while unemployment remains a national crisis. We challenge all those who claim to stand for change: either show up and fight for real accountability or step out of the GNU. South Africa’s unemployed cannot afford another year of suboptimal growth. It is long overdue for the President to be held to his own stated growth targets—he declared in the SONA that our economy must grow at 3% or more. Unless there are real political consequences for underperformance and non-performance, nothing will change, and we will continue to rank among the worst globally on unemployment indices.

Issued by ActionSA Member of Parliament Alan Beesley