Collaborative governance: The government of national unity had promised stability and accelerated reform. Photo: @PresidencyZA/X
A year after President Cyril Ramaphosa delivered his inaugural State of the Nation address (Sona) as the head of South Africa’s first national coalition government, the record of its performance is a mix of hits and misses.
For the first time since 1994, the ANC had lost its outright majority and entered into a government of national unity (GNU) with former rivals, among them the Democratic Alliance, signalling that it was no longer going to be business as usual and giving hope to many that there would be more accountability.
The arrangement was presented as a reset, a signal that the country could move beyond entrenched partisanship toward collaborative governance. It promised stability and accelerated reform, setting an explicit economic target to lift GDP growth above 3% a year.
Ramaphosa pledged to end load-shedding, revive infrastructure investment, create jobs and intensify the fight against corruption.
A year after the promises were made, the outcomes are mixed — measurable gains in some areas and unfinished reforms or outright missed targets in others.
The country absorbs this week’s Sona against that balance sheet.
The coalition government framed growth above 3% as essential to reducing unemployment and restoring fiscal health, yet the target was not met. The International Monetary Fund (IMF) estimates South Africa’s economic growth at just 1.3% in 2025 and 1.4% in 2026, not sufficient to significantly reduce structural unemployment.
On the plus side, revenue collection improved in 2025 relative to 2024. The South African Revenue Service recorded a net tax intake of about R1.855 trillion for the 2024/25 fiscal year, roughly R114 billion more than the previous year and nearly R8.8bn above revised government estimates. The treasury attributed the outperformance to improved compliance and administrative reforms.
This week, the IMF mission chief for South Africa, Delia Velculescu, noted gradual economic improvement and stronger institutional frameworks, with economic activity expected to improve and inflation to converge on target but said structural impediments, such as weak infrastructure and rising public debt, remained significant barriers to more rapid growth.
In a statement on Wednesday at the conclusion of annual Article IV consultations with Pretoria, the IMF executive board embraced the country’s macroeconomic stability under the GNU but warned that long‑standing constraints continued to limit the potential to generate higher, inclusive growth.
“Directors welcomed ongoing electricity and logistics reforms aimed at removing critical impediments to growth through higher private‑sector participation and encouraged their resolute implementation.
“They supported additional reforms to improve the business environment, strengthen governance, combat corruption, improve the flexibility of the labour market, address spatial disparities and deepen trade diversification,” the statement said.
The IMF said South Africa’s post-pandemic recovery had also been hampered by repeated global shocks and domestic challenges, among them, more recently, increased protectionism, fragmentation and global trade policy uncertainty.
But because of its ample natural endowments, independent institutions and strong monetary policy framework, the economy has proven resilient thus far.
Energy reform, positioned as the foundation for economic recovery, offers a mix of good and bad.
Ramaphosa committed to implementing the Energy Action.
In his speech on Thursday, Ramaphosa said the GNU had helped to stabilise the country’s economy after years of stagnation, load shedding and investor uncertainty.
He said the GNU isn’t just a political compromise but a constitutional duty rooted in dignity, equality, non-racialism and non-sexism, and argued that collaboration within the GNU has reduced political uncertainty and restored credibility at home and abroad.
Ramaphosa emphasised that the country’s strength comes from its people’s tolerance, generosity and solidarity, and warned that progress could falter without unity, discipline and mutual respect, urging South Africans to “march in one line” despite their differences in order to sustain economic momentum and national cohesion.
Plan and accelerating reforms under the Electricity Regulation Amendment Act.
Last month, Eskom announced that the country had recorded more than 266-consecutive days without load-shedding. Last year, the power utility also reported operational improvements and a return to profitability.
Cabinet’s approval, in October, of the Integrated Resource Plan 2025 — the country’s long-term electricity strategy — provides a clear roadmap for diversifying generation and expanding capacity, including renewables, gas and nuclear.
Yet challenges remain. Grid resilience continues to be uneven while municipalities owe about R105bn to Eskom and generation diversification is incomplete.
Infrastructure investment has moved at a measured pace.
The government announced R940bn in infrastructure over three years, targeting logistics, water, energy and transport.
Some progress is visible. Transnet has reported modest improvements in rail and port performance, while public-private partnerships in logistics have expanded. Several projects have progressed from planning into early execution phases.
However, delivery remains slower than ambition, with many projects stuck at preparatory stages. Procurement delays and capacity constraints continue to plague many municipalities. Parts of Gauteng are failing to provide water to communities.
The lack of proper planning and adequate feasibility studies meant that money meant for upgrading, renewal or installing new infrastructure risks being misspent or even unspent, Wynand Dreyer, the chairperson of the South African Institution of Civil Engineering advocacy committee on water infrastructure, said earlier this month.
Failures in infrastructure governance and state‑owned enterprises pushed up costs, eroded investor confidence and limited growth potential, governance specialist William Gumede said.
He highlighted energy problems and deteriorating water infrastructure as symptomatic of deeper state capacity challenges.
“The main problems that the country is facing currently is that its policies are based on outdated ideologies which lack coherent industrial policy. This, coupled with the state of failing infrastructure, is a concern for the economy and impedes on its growth,” Gumede said.
He said cadre deployment in the mining and infrastructure industries had been a growing concern which had undermined the country’s growth prospects.
“Uncertainty over nationalisation, a black economic empowerment framework that often channels political appointees into partnerships with established mining companies, the poor performance of ANC deployees in ANC departments and laws permitting expropriation without compensation have discouraged new investments and exploration in the mining sector, limiting its potential contribution to economic growth and job creation.”
Job creation, identified as a central pillar of the GNU’s mandate, has registered some incremental gains. The Presidential Employment Stimulus and the Youth Employment Service were expanded, resulting in roughly 248 000 new jobs in 2025. Of those, the Youth Employment Service placed about 200 000 young people in work experience.
In spite of the efforts, youth unemployment remains alarmingly high.
According to Statistics South Africa’s quarterly labour force survey, the unemployment rate among people aged 15 to 24 was about 58.5% in the third quarter of 2025 and 43.7% for those aged 15 to 34, illustrating that temporary placements have yet to translate into sustained employment at scale.
To combat the unemployment crisis, a R20bn transformation fund was launched to support black-owned and small businesses, alongside procurement reforms aimed at widening participation.
However, the independent assessment of impact remains limited.
The pace of disbursement, accessibility and scale of uptake will determine whether the fund shifts ownership patterns or remains largely symbolic. The framework exists but outcomes have yet to be demonstrated.
Governance and corruption reforms have advanced in terms of structures but public trust remains fragile. Institutional changes continue, digital systems aimed at improving public service efficiency are rolling out and anti-corruption units remain active.
Municipal dysfunction, crime and service delivery failures continue to shape public perception. Institutional repair does not immediately translate into public confidence. The mechanisms are in place but trust has not recovered.
Although efforts to modernise the government through digital platforms and identity systems have begun, adoption is gradual and service improvements remain uneven. Modernisation is in progress but its systemic effect remains to be seen.
A year into the GNU, the evidence points less to transformation than to stabilisation.
The most tangible progress has come in more reliable electricity supply and revenue administration, which are both essential foundations for economic recovery.
But South Africa’s broader economic picture remains constrained. Growth is stuck well below the 3% threshold the coalition government itself defined as necessary for meaningful change.
What is missing is scale and speed, analysts say.
The coalition government has reduced volatility and restored a measure of institutional credibility.
Whether it can convert that stability into sustained growth and job creation will determine whether the coalition is remembered as a transitional stabiliser or a genuine turning point in South Africa’s economic trajectory.
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