Note to Broadcasters: Please find attached soundbites in English by Freddy Sonakile
The Democratic Alliance (DA) in the North West Provincial Legislature has reintroduced its motion calling for an urgent debate and resolution on the province’s deepening unemployment crisis. This decision follows the release of the latest Statistics South Africa Quarterly Labour Force Survey for the first 3 months of 2025, which confirms the North West is still the worst-performing province in the country, with a 40.4% official unemployment rate and a devastating expanded unemployment rate of 56%.
This means that more than half of our working-age population are jobless, many of whom have given up looking for work entirely. In the last quarter alone, 57,000 jobs were lost, a brutal blow to communities already suffering under crumbling infrastructure, failed service delivery, and institutional decay.
Following the 7th administration budgets after the 2024 general elections, the DA made the conscious and reasonable decision to temporarily withdraw its motion to allow Premier Lazarus Mokgosi and his executive time to settle in and act on the bold promises they made during the budget debates. We were told there were “major plans in the pipeline”. We gave them a fair chance.
But now, a year after the elections, it is abundantly clear: there are no clear economic reforms in the pipeline.
The unemployment crisis is not improving. It is worsening. And this Executive continues to operate with no coherent economic plan, no accountability, and no urgency. What little they have offered are vague announcements, incomplete projects, and photo opportunities.
We can no longer allow the people of North West to suffer in silence while this government continues to sleepwalk through a jobs crisis.
That is why the DA has resuscitated the motion for a full, robust, and uncompromising debate in the Legislature. This will not be just another discussion; it will be an accountability session where the Premier and his entire Executive will be expected to explain:
• Why unemployment has skyrocketed under their leadership;
• what concrete results have their so-called flagship projects yielded, and
• what they intend to do to immediately stem the tide of joblessness.
The DA will use this debate to put the government’s record under scrutiny and ensure that this Legislature lives up to its constitutional obligation of holding the Executive to account.
The people of North West cannot survive on empty promises. They need jobs. And they need a government that works for them, not against them.