Action SA is calling for the removal of Labour Minister Nomakhosazana Meth accusing her of failing to provide solutions in response to the country’s rising unemployment.
The party’s call comes at the back of the latest Quarterly Labour Force Survey which showed the official unemployment rate to have risen to 32.9 percent ( it was previously 31.9 %) which analysts said means that 8.2 million South Africans are unemployed while an additional 3.5 million is regarded as being too discouraged to actively seek employment.
Action SA claimed that other than historical patterns, there has been a jobs blood bath in the contemporary period.
“291 000 jobs were lost in the first quarter alone – the first such Q1 contraction since 2021. This equates to more than 24,000 jobs lost each week, and almost 5 000 each workday. The proportion of young South Africans aged 15–34 who are not in employment, education, or training (NEET) rose to 45.1% in Q1:2025 — a devastating indicator that nearly half of our youth have been left without opportunity, support or a path to a better future,” said Action SA Member of Parliament Allan Beesley in a statement.
Beesley said there appears to not be any strategy for arresting the worsening unemployment which has over the years become a major campaign issue in successive elections.
“Party has written to President Ramaphosa demanding the minister’s removal over what he believes to be her inability to arrest the worsening unemployment crisis.
“There is a glaring absence of any meaningful strategy, either in planning or implementation and despite full awareness of South Africa’s worsening unemployment crisis, Minister Meth has failed to present a coherent plan to stem job losses, support the informal economy or tackle the systemic barriers that keep young people out of the workforce,” said Beesley.
He suggested the minister was simply out of her depths in the labour portfolio and also accused her of indifference.
“In November 2024, ActionSA asked Minister Meth whether she would resign should the country’s distressing unemployment figures continue to rise. Her response was blunt and unapologetic: “Unfortunately, I won’t resign.” This laid bare a disturbing indifference to the suffering of millions ofSouth Africans. It is an attitude that reflects the posture of an uncaring government that has grown comfortable with failure while ordinary citizens pay the price.ActionSA has written to President Ramaphosa, requesting that he dismiss the Minister of Employment and Labour, Nomakhosazana Meth, for her clear failure to arrest the deepening unemployment crisis that continues to erode hope, dignity and opportunity for millions of South Africans,” Beesley said.
”
It is clear that the absence of meaningful performance management for GNU Ministers has created a culture where failure carries zero consequence. In any functional democracy, such dismal figures amid worsening socio-economic conditions would compel a Minister to take responsibility and step down. Sadly, this standard of accountability is sorely lacking in South Africa and glaringly absent in the
Ramaphosa led administrations. ActionSA believes that something has to give. Sitting on our hands while millions suffer is simply not
an option. We are committed to using every available lever to ensure that South Africa’s unemployment crisis is addressed with the urgency it demands,” he said.