DA slams ANC’s economic plan, demands end to BEE, others for real growth
South Africa’s president, Cyril Ramaphosa. Photo Credit- Polity.org
The Democratic Alliance (DA) has sharply criticised the African National Congress (ANC)’s newly announced “Economic Action Plan,” unveiled by President Cyril Ramaphosa, insisting it must abandon Black Economic Empowerment (BEE) and race-based policies to have any chance of success. In a statement released on October 6, 2025, the DA described the ANC’s blueprint as largely mirroring its own “Plan to Turbocharge the Economy,” announced last month, but tainted by the inclusion of “failed ideas” that have long hindered investment and job creation.
The DA highlighted the dire economic context, noting that more than a year into the Government of National Unity (GNU), South Africa’s annualized GDP growth lingers at a dismal 0.6%, while unemployment has climbed to 33.2%. The party acknowledged progress in DA-led GNU departments, which have spurred growth and employment, but accused ANC ministers in key portfolios of obstructing essential reforms, acting as a persistent drag on the economy.
While endorsing several elements of Ramaphosa’s proposals, the DA expressed support for private sector involvement in electricity and logistics, the professionalization of the civil service, ringfencing revenue for reinvestment in critical infrastructure, and expanded assistance for small and medium enterprises (SMEs). However, the party voiced deep skepticism about the ANC’s capacity to execute these measures with the necessary urgency and thoroughness, pointing to a track record of delays and half-measures.
At the core of the DA’s rebuke is Ramaphosa’s staunch defense of BEE, which the opposition labels a policy that has repelled investors, choked economic expansion, and enriched ANC-connected elites while leaving the majority of black South Africans mired in poverty and shut out from opportunities. The DA argued that true empowerment demands a model that directly uplifts impoverished communities and forges routes from destitution to prosperity, vowing to table parliamentary legislation soon to enact such a framework.
The DA attributed the ANC’s eroding voter base to its chronic failures in service delivery, cadre deployment, and economic stewardship. While pledging backing for growth-oriented reforms, the party affirmed it will relentlessly challenge and amend policies that sabotage jobs and development, positioning the critique as a call for pragmatic, inclusive economic revival in a nation teetering on the brink.
