The results of the recently released Statistics SA quarterly labour force survey for the third quarter make grim reading, with unemployment levels in KwaZulu-Natal up by 0.6% quarter on quarter. That is 47,000 jobs shed since the same time in 2016 — the highest regional loss in the country. One of the biggest concerns is the fall from the second quarter of 2017, which raises the question whether this is the start of a downward spiral. The DA has on many occasions warned the ANC in the province that rhetoric does not build an economy. The recent ridiculous utterances by KwaZulu-Natal economic development MEC Sihle Zikalala, in his desperate bid to hold on to his position as the ANC provincial chair, have done little to improve the economy of our province. For as long as the ANC provincial leadership prioritises populist jargon over the development of proper policies and a competent bureaucracy, our people will continue to live in poverty. The only alternative for the people is to vot...

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