The increase of the unemployment rate to 32,6% in the first quarter of 2021, a record high since Statistics South Africa started recording it in 2008, confirms that unemployment will keep rising under ANC rule.
The Covid-19 pandemic and related restrictions certainly did contribute to massive job losses, but the country's unemployment rate was already climbing steadily even before the pandemic.
Failed ANC political ideologies, such as Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) legislation, that severely restrict the private sector's leeway for creating job opportunities – even more so in the recently submitted amendment bill – will only add to unemployment in South Africa.
The poor state of local government and its utter decline under ANC rule further hamper small businesses' economic progress and job-creation potential.
The ever-increasing unemployment rate and especially the expanded unemployment rate that includes discouraged jobseekers, which reached a peak at 43,2% in the first quarter, are the direct consequences of poor governance on all levels.
As long as economic growth is not prioritised, unemployment and the associated socio-economic problems will keep growing.
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