More than four out of every ten people in South Africa do not have a job. They are desperate, starving and without hope. For many, resorting to crime is the only way to survive.
According to the latest figures published by Statistics South Africa (SSA), the official unemployment rate rose from 32,1% to 32,9% and the “expanded unemployment” rate from 41,1% to 41,9%. That is nearly an entire percentage point.
In the FF Plus’s view, SSA’s term “expanded unemployment” is just a euphemism to sugar-coat the harsh reality of unemployment in the country.
“Expanded unemployment” includes those who have given up hope and are no longer actively searching for a job because they simply cannot find work in the labour market of a continuously declining economy.
Truth be told, there is only one real unemployment rate and that is the one indicating exactly how many people do not have jobs under ANC rule, namely 42,98%.
And yet the ANC still promises, after thirty years of mismanagement, a “Better life for all” on its election posters, should it be re-elected.
The irony of the matter is that approximately four out of every ten people – possibly more – vote for the ANC because they are desperately clinging to empty promises and fear the apparent horror of Apartheid, which the ANC keeps exhuming.
Ordinary South Africans should see unemployment for what it really is: the consequence of an incompetent and corrupt government that structures its policy to keep people dependent on it. It has destroyed the economy.
The FF Plus has been saying for years that unemployment will keep climbing for these very reasons. The same goes for crime.
The only solutions the ANC managed to come up with entail more social grants and impractical promises, such as the National Health Insurance (NHI), which is meant to create the illusion of world-class healthcare for everyone in South Africa.
It is simply not possible and the truth of the matter is that in the end, there will be virtually nothing left for anyone. The country’s entire healthcare system will collapse – just like Eskom and all the other public enterprises run into the ground by the ANC.
There are currently only 7 million people in the country who are paying taxes, and who must finance the ANC’s promises and support 63 million people. It is not sustainable.
As the FF Plus clearly points out in its 2024 Election Manifesto, a healthy and viable economy backed by a dynamic free-market system is the key to success and prosperity for the country and all its people.
It will never happen under ANC rule, though. The only way to save South Africa is to oust the current government and replace it with a coalition government able to restore and rebuild the country. The FF Plus will be part of such a government.
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