10.4 million unemployed South Africans the real State of the Nation

12 February 2020

Yesterday’s release of the 2019 Fourth Quarter (Q4) Employment statistics reflects an economy in a downward spiral. For the first time since 2008, the official unemployment rate – the narrow definition – remained stagnant from Q3 to Q4 at 29.1%. This is contrast to the expected decrease in unemployment that has been seen over this period in the past.

More importantly, the expanded unemployment rate – the broad definition – showed a slight increase to 38.7%, with almost 10.4 million South Africans now without a job, or without the hope of finding a job.

Despite the grand promises made by President Cyril Ramaphosa, and the billions in investment his leadership has allegedly attracted to South Africa, the reality on the ground has gone from bad to worse. Indeed, unemployment increased by 2 percentage points since he took office. This is the true state of the nation.

That is why I will be boycotting watching Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address on Thursday. The time for empty promises delivered to a fancy-dress party has long passed.

Despite the initial ‘Ramaphoria’, our state-owned entities continue to cripple our fiscus, load-shedding has once again become a regular occurrence, policy is no less certain than the day he took office, and no single high-profile ANC politician is yet to find themselves behind bars.

The self-serving party-political system has failed the ordinary residents of South Africa, with Ramaphosa ultimately serving the ANC and the tri-partite alliance, and not the people of this great country.

That is why The People’s Dialogue will continue to engage the residents of South Africa as we seek to build people-based alternative. We need leaders who talk less and act more, and do not shy away from tackling the difficult challenges we face.

Issued by Michael Beaumont on behalf of The People’s Dialogue, 12 February 2020