House Chairperson,
The Department of Employment and Labour has been allocated a total budget of 4.15 billion rand in the 2025/26 financial year.
The ACDP acknowledges the Department’s strategic priority to drive inclusive growth and job creation. With the official unemployment rate at 32.9%, the expanded unemployment rate at 43.1% and youth unemployment at 62.4%, it is clear that this Department, and others dedicated to job creation, are failing South African job seekers. On UIF payments, the ACDP has received complaints of delays of up to 20 days for payment to be released, because after a UIF claim is approved, there’s another waiting period, or approval process which takes place at the Departments Head Office in Pretoria. The waiting period for dependents of deceased contributors, up to 18 months, adds insult to injury. The Department must rectify this so as to provide a dignified service to the unemployed.
This Department’s R4.15 billion allocation, while purpose-driven, is constrained. We note the prioritisation of employment facilitation, enforcement of labour rights, and inclusion of people with disabilities through Supported Employment Enterprises, the SEE. Yet the SEE itself faces a projected deficit, raising questions about the sustainability of its constitutional mandate.
The ACDP acknowledges the intent to address unemployment, poverty, and inequality. However, we remain deeply concerned that despite these plans, the unemployment crisis persists with continuing disparities across gender and race, with women and the youth facing disproportionately higher levels of unemployment. The ACDP agrees with Professor Bheki Mngomezulu of Nelson Mandela University who has argued that BBBEE has been “derailed by corruption and elite capture,” fostering disillusionment, hence must be replaced with an empowerment system which benefits all South Africans.
As Kingdom builders, the ACDP calls for the addressing of the root causes of unemployment, namely: policy instability, infrastructure collapse, and a hostile business environment. Instruments that are critical to aligning skills development with market demand and restoring dignity through work, must be supported. As we stated in last year’s debate, “when unemployment rises in inverse proportion to GDP, it becomes a threat to national security”.
Thank you.
