A snapshot of Government’s performance in 2025
December is a silly season in South Africa. It’s a season where there is a scarcity of news and whoever has an opinion about the performance of Government, publishes it on the different platforms.
Some opinions are far-fetched, some are constructive, some are critical and others are emotional.
Nevertheless, this time of the year makes for interesting reading.
In the United Kingdom, where the term originated, the silly season is associated with the summer Parliamentary recess, while in our country it refers to the shut down over the festive season.
While some opinion-makers started their assessments soon after the successful hosting of the G20 Summit in November, the majority will follow over the next few days.
Most assessments are done by media houses and the results are either a boost for a politician or a negative score with consequences to those in close proximity to a politician.
The beauty of these assessments is the safeguards in our Constitution which protects freedom of speech and the media.
In light of the scarcity of news, it is apt for Government’s voice to be heard. It is important to note that the information is voluminous and this is just a snapshot of successes.
One can rightly ask what is the yardstick we should use for Government. That is easy. The document to study is the State of the Nation Address (SoNA) and in this instance, it is the SoNA 2025 delivered by President Cyril Ramaphosa in February of this year.
In his address, President Ramaphosa, announced that the Government of National Unity has adopted the Medium-Term Development Plan (MTDP) for the period 2024-2029. The MTDP which sets out three key priorities of Government,
These priorities are to drive inclusive growth and job creation; to reduce poverty and tackle the high cost of living; and to build a capable, ethical and developmental state.
The President said the immediate task was to grow our economy so that we can create jobs, reduce poverty and improve the lives of all South Africans.
The emphasis on the economy is reminiscent of the famous slogan by James Carville, a strategist in Bill Clinton’s presidential campaign in 1992 when he wrote, “It’s the economy, stupid.”
The green shoots for an economy recovery are visible. Some key indicators are:
The rand holding its own against major currencies and has breached the level of R17 to the US dollar.
GDP grew by 0.5% in the third quarter meaning that the economy is expanding. Much remains in the pipeline to achieve a higher growth rate given its centrality to attaining the country’s developmental aspirations.
Unemployment for Quarter 3 was down by 1.3 percentage points to 31.9% with the construction sector the major contributor with 130 000 new jobs out of the total of 248 000 new jobs.
Government will spend R1 trillion over the next three years on infrastructure projects.
Stability of energy supply is central to this turn around and we should be building on the successes thus far to the next level.
This year the Youth Employment Service reached the milestone of 200 000 young South Africans funded and placed into quality first-job experiences.
SA achieved its first rating upgrade in 20 years when the ratings agency, Standard and Poor upgraded the country’s foreign currency long-term sovereign credit rating to BB from BB-. In addition, the local currency long-term sovereign credit rating to BB+ from BB.
The International Monetary Fund lifted its growth forecast for the country to 1.3% in 2025 and 1.4% in 2026 from 1.1% and 1.2% respectively
Phase 2 of Operation Vulindlela is gaining traction. The results of this initiative led by President Ramaphosa to unlock growth and remove obstacles in areas that impedes on growth are starting to filter through.
Tourism is on an upward trajectory and the number of foreign visitors increased by 18% year-on-year from 2024. SA Tourism reported that most visitors were from the US (331 378), followed by the UK, Germany, the Netherlands and France.
The South African Revenue Service has collected a net revenue of R924,7-bilion by 30 September of this year. This is a year-on-year growth of R78,6-billion and an overall surplus of R18 billion against its printed estimates.
Yes, there are challenges, but Government is not afraid to confront them. Local government remains a challenge and President Ramaphosa and the Cabinet have met with seven of the nine provincial executives to address key issues in this sphere.
Accusations of corruption in the criminal justice system are before the Madlanga Commission. The Justice, Crime Prevention and Security Cluster is continuously looking at measures to fight crime and keep citizens safe.
The GNU priorities to reduce poverty and tackle the high cost of living. In this regard, we are particularly seized with intervention on assisting households cope with food price volatility, as well as the measures to make public transport affordable. Rising cost of living has become a challenge in many parts of the world, as we have learnt from the G20 engagements.
In conclusion, this is not a review of Government but it is a high-level glance of successes and issues challenges since 6 February 2025.
The silly season, indeed has highlighted the need for Government to improve its communication with its key stakeholders, the people of South Africa and the media.
Furthermore, the measures introduced by the 6th Administration in 2019 are beginning to bear fruit. The focus is for the GNU to accelerate this process and ensure that the green shoots of the economic upswing gain momentum and touch the lives of all South Africans for the remainder of this MTDP period.
Media enquiries:
Vincent Magwenya
Spokesperson to the President
E-mail: media@presidency.gov.za
#GovZAUpdates
