Note to Broadcasters: This is an extract of a speech delivered by Freddy Sonakile Caucus Leader in the North West Provincial Legislature today
I rise today with a heavy heart, but also with fire in my bones, because this is not just a political motion. This is a cry for help. A cry from thousands of people across the North West who wake up every morning to a province that has forgotten them. A government that has abandoned them. A system that is broken.
Let us be absolutely clear: we are not debating numbers. We are debating lives.
Behind every percentage point in the Labour Force Survey is a real person:
- A graduate staring at the ceiling, wondering why their degree can’t buy bread.
- A parent skipping meals so their child can eat.
- A young person whose hope is dying slowly, one rejection and one broken promise at a time.
The North West has the highest unemployment in the country.
The expanded unemployment rate stands at 56%, with the official unemployment rate at 40,4%
And just this past quarter, 57 000 more jobs vanished.
- Where is the Premier’s provincial jobs plan?
- Where is the economic roadmap?
- What investments have actually produced real, trackable jobs?\
It is a cruel paradox that one of South Africa’s most mineral-rich provinces, the North West leads with the highest levels of unemployment.
Here in the North West, platinum, gold, and chrome mining dominate our landscape. We are the heart of South Africa’s mining economy.
In fact, we produce nearly 40% of South Africa’s platinum output, contributing massively to the national GDP. The Rustenburg platinum belt alone is responsible for over 70% of the world’s platinum supply.
This debate today cannot be a tick-box exercise, a matter of platitudes and promises that are never fulfilled. We need bold, deliberate, targeted reforms. Real, practical action, not talk.
Other provinces are moving forward:
- The Northern Cape, once solely dependent on mining, is fast becoming South Africa’s renewable energy hub, creating thousands of new jobs in solar and wind energy.
- The Western Cape, with no mineral wealth to boast of, has built a thriving economy on agriculture, tourism, and technology, its expanded unemployment rate is the lowest in the country.
- Even Mpumalanga, with fewer mining operations than North West has diversified into agriculture, forestry, and energy to buffer against mining sector decline.
In the North West, mining continues to enrich a few, while communities remain locked in poverty and unemployment. Beneficiation is a pipe dream. Local economic development is weak or non-existent. Skills development is failing. And municipalities are collapsing under mismanagement and maladministration, pushing investors away.
We are no longer in a normal situation. This province is in a jobs disaster. That is why the DA is calling for the following urgent interventions:
The DA’s Five-Point Rescue Plan for Jobs and Economic Recovery:
- Declare Unemployment in the North West a Provincial Disaster
- Establish a Premier-Led Youth Employment War Room Based in the Office of the Premier, this unit must track progress on youth job creation, fast-track enterprise support, and eliminate duplication across departments.
- Adopt a Provincial Jobs Turnaround Plan
- Launch a Provincial Infrastructure-First Recovery Strategy
- Table Quarterly Reports on All Investment Projects
To Premier Mokgosi: Your honeymoon is over. The time for poetic speeches and symbolic ribbon-cuttings is done.
This House must demand:
- A clear jobs plan;
- An honest account of investment impact;
- A road infrastructure rescue package; and
- A commitment to transparency and urgency.
And if you cannot deliver, then step aside for those of us who will.
Because North West is not poor, it is poorly governed.
And we will not stop fighting until that changes.
Let this House be remembered, not as the place where the unemployment crisis was ignored, but where the fight against it began.
I table this motion and solutions for resolution, monitoring, and follow-up.