BLOEMFONTEIN: The Democratic Alliance (DA) in North West has accused Premier Bushy Maape Mokgosi of relying on “selective statistics” and “recycled promises” to paint a picture of economic recovery in the province, dismissing recent Labour Force Survey data as insufficient evidence of meaningful progress.
In a strongly worded statement released by DA Caucus Leader Freddy Sonakile, the opposition party acknowledged that any genuine job creation is welcome but emphasized that residents deserve “substance, not governance by press release.” Sonakile highlighted that a year-on-year decline in the official unemployment rate fails to address the province’s deeper structural issues.
“The lived reality across North West remains one of collapsing municipal services, deteriorating roads, unreliable water supply, failing infrastructure, and shrinking local economies,” Sonakile said. He pointed out that even the Premier’s admission of a mere 1.9 percentage point drop in the expanded unemployment rate underscores the persistence of a “structural unemployment crisis,” particularly affecting discouraged work-seekers and young people who remain sidelined from economic opportunities.
The DA welcomed the recent memorandum of understanding (MOU) signed between the provincial government and the National Department of Public Works and Infrastructure aimed at revitalizing the province’s airport. However, Sonakile criticized this as a damning indictment of the provincial Department of Public Works’ long-standing failures. “The need for national intervention now exposes the province’s sustained failure to execute its own mandate,” he stated, adding that competent oversight and timely infrastructure maintenance could have averted the need for external assistance.
Sonakile described this as part of a broader pattern of governance shortcomings in North West, including municipalities’ inability to maintain basic infrastructure, chronic under-spending on maintenance leading to multiplying emergency repairs, procurement delays that harm small contractors, and public entities that deliver little tangible economic impact.
“It is therefore misleading for the provincial government to celebrate job figures without confronting the fundamental barriers that prevent investment and private-sector growth,” the DA leader argued. He stressed that sustainable employment stems not from short-term public programs or temporary fluctuations in sectors like agriculture and construction, but from a stable environment where businesses can thrive—with efficient permit processing, timely supplier payments, and supportive infrastructure.
Calling for a “decisive shift from announcement-driven governance to delivery-driven governance,” Sonakile outlined the DA’s priorities: restoring financial discipline in municipalities, professionalizing provincial departments, prioritizing infrastructure maintenance, eradicating corruption in procurement, and bolstering small and emerging businesses as the true drivers of job creation.
“The people of North West are not asking for optimistic speeches,” he concluded. “They are asking for working roads, reliable water, safe communities, functioning municipalities, and real economic opportunity. Until those fundamentals are fixed, no amount of memoranda, strategies, or celebratory statements will change the daily reality facing residents.”
The DA pledged to continue offering “firm oversight, practical alternatives, and accountable leadership” to push the province toward “real, measurable progress.”
Premier Mokgosi’s office has not yet responded to the DA’s criticisms. MORONGWA News will provide updates as more information becomes available.
