ActionSA president Herman Mashaba said on Tuesday that South Africa’s current unemployment and fiscal crisis is a manmade disaster by the ruling African National Congress (ANC), following years of mismanagement and corruption.

Stats South Africa released the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) for the fourth quarter of 2023, indicating a decrease in the number of employed persons by 22 000 to 16.7-million.

The number of unemployed persons increased by 46 000 to 7.9-million during the same quarter. Additionally, the number of people who were not economically active for reasons other than discouragement increased by 218 000 to 13.4-million, while discouraged work-seekers decreased by 107 000 in the fourth quarter of 2023 compared to the third quarter of 2023.

Mashaba said the “disastrous” fourth quarter unemployment statistics indicated that unless South Africans changed their national government in the upcoming elections, the country would see a further decline in employment opportunities and economic growth.

He said despite repeated promises by the ruling government, including most recently by President Cyril Ramaphosa during his State of the Nation Address, that South Africa was turning the tide against job losses, the QLFS showed that the current approach was not working.

Meanwhile, the QLFS showed that the Western Cape was now just 0.4 of a percentage point away from unemployment falling below 20% in the province, with unemployment sitting at 20.3%.

The publication also showed that unemployment in the province was down, on the official definition, by 2.2 percentage points year-on-year – which is the biggest decrease in South Africa.

Premier Alan Winde said this was promising news for the people of the Western Cape.

Winde said that he was elated that the province’s action was making a difference in the lives of residents.

He outlined in his State of the Province Address how the Western Cape government had decisively acted to enable job creation, provide quality education, extend healthcare to those most in need, and boost safety for citizens.

GAUTENG UNEMPLOYMENT

Democratic Alliance (DA) Gauteng Shadow Economic Development MEC Patrick Atkinson stated that Gauteng residents had once again been failed by the provincial government, which he said had promised to create more employment opportunities.

Atkinson noted that despite many promises made by Premier Panyaza Lesufi about concrete plans to curb the unemployment rate in the province, his interventions were clearly not working.

Furthermore, he said the Gauteng Department of Economic Development has constantly failed to meet its job creation targets, which also had a negative impact on the unemployment rate.

He highlighted that the Gauteng provincial government’s job was to create a conducive environment to attract the local and international private sector to invest in the country’s economy.

“However, if we do not clamp down on corruption, crime and loadshedding, this will deter potential investors,” explained Atkinson.

The DA said it had a plan to rescue Gauteng and create a conducive environment that would help create sustainable job opportunities.