By The political fallout from South Africa’s persistent structural jobs crisis has intensified, with ActionSA launching a scathing attack on the Government of National Unity (GNU) following the release of the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS) by Statistics South Africa.
According to the data, the official unemployment rate ticked up to 33.7% in the third quarter of 2026, driven by a surge of 97,000 newly unemployed individuals. When factoring in discouraged work-seekers, the broader crisis paints an even bleaker picture: the expanded unemployment rate has climbed to 44%, pushing the total number of South Africans trapped without work or having abandoned their job searches past the 12 million mark.
Weighing in on the crisis, ActionSA Member of Parliament Alan Beesley did not mince words, accusing the GNU of presiding over a “jobs bloodbath” characterized by severe internal political bickering rather than effective governance.
“This demonstrates that the GNU has failed dismally in growing the economy and creating jobs,” Beesley stated. “Rather than blaming external factors, the GNU must look at the numerous own goals that they have and continued to score.
If the GNU spent less time fighting each other in parliament and in court and spent more time working on and introducing and implementing workable solutions, the economy and unemployed may have a chance.”
The opposition party drew a sharp contrast between the daily economic struggles of ordinary citizens—who face a profound loss of dignity, agency, and financial security—and the insulated comfort of the executive branch.
ActionSA specifically targeted the administration’s bloated structure, arguing that a bloated cabinet of 75 ministers and deputy ministers remains completely insulated from the economic pain felt nationwide.
Insisting that non-performance must carry political consequences, ActionSA renewed its call for President Cyril Ramaphosa to exercise decisive leadership by axing underperforming members of the executive.
The party has specifically demanded the removal of leadership across critical economic portfolios, including the Departments of Labour and Employment; Trade, Industry and Competition; Public Works and Infrastructure; Transport; and Small Business Development.
“President Ramaphosa must act on ActionSA’s call for ministers and deputies to be fired,” Beesley warned. “Until there is accountability and consequences for non-performance, nothing will change, and millions of South Africans will continue to suffer the real and damning consequences of being unemployed.”
