The ANC government promised South Africans an unemployment rate of 6% but it increased to 33%

The Minister of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Maropene Ramokgopa, tried to whitewash the government’s failure to meet its economic targets.

The targets include those in the National Development Plan (NDP), which aim to reduce unemployment to 6% by 2030.

The Government released its National Development Plan (NDP) 2030 in 2012, providing a roadmap for the country over the next eighteen years.

“It is a plan for a better future in which no person lives in poverty, where no one goes hungry, where there is work for all,” she said.

The NDP said South Africa must find ways to urgently reduce alarming levels of youth unemployment and to provide young people with broader opportunities.

It set clear goals regarding unemployment and even suggested ways to achieve them, which include strong GDP growth.

• The unemployment rate should fall from 24.9% in June 2012 to 14% by 2020 and to 6% by 2030. This requires an additional 11 million jobs.

• Total employment should rise from 13 million to 24 million.

However, these targets served no purpose, as the ANC continued to implement destructive policies such as BEE and Expropriation without compensation.

Combined with widespread corruption and the alienation of South Africa’s most important trading partner, the United States, the results were predictable.

Instead of lower unemployment, the South African government significantly increased it since the NDP 2030 was published.

The latest data from Statistics South Africa showed that South Africa’s official unemployment rate rose to 33.6% in the second quarter of 2026.

So, instead of moving closer to the 6% unemployment target of the NDP 2030, unemployment has rapidly increased in South Africa.

Minister of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, Maropene Ramokgopa, tries to explain

National Assembly member Lorato Tito asked Ramokgopa in Parliament which targets the Cabinet has failed to meet since 2024.

She also asked who has been held accountable for the failures and what strategic intervention plan has been put in place to rectify the situation.

Ramokgopa responded, saying the National Development Plan (NDP) aims to reduce unemployment to 6 per cent and the Gini coefficient to 0.60 by 2030.

“As such, it is premature to conclude that these targets have been missed at this stage,” the Minister said.

However, Ramokgopa admitted that economic indicators remained below target amid changing circumstances.

These changing circumstances include geopolitical instability and growing domestic pressures from socio-economic dynamics.

“Unemployment remains significantly above the MTDP end-term target. Inequality remains above the levels envisaged in the NDP,” she said.

She added that they are currently working on a midterm review report, which will clearly indicate which midterm targets and indicators are being met and which are not.

She said that the accountability for implementation rests with the relevant executive authorities, accounting officers and institutional oversight structures.

“Where persistent shortcomings are identified, the department escalates these matters through established accountability and executive oversight mechanisms,” she said.

In plain speak, nobody has been held accountable for the government’s failure to meet its targets.

As for the plan to improve performance, Ramokgopa said her department prepares bi-annual, mid-term and end-term monitoring reports.

 “Where performance is below expectations, the department identifies the underlying challenges and engages the relevant departments,” she said.

“We recommend appropriate corrective measures and, where necessary, escalate significant matters through established governance structures.”