DA federal leader Geordin Hill-Lewis has launched his fiercest attack yet on President Cyril Ramaphosa, accusing him of presiding over an economy drowning in investment conferences while millions of South Africans remain trapped in unemployment.
In a blistering letter circulated to From the Leader’s Desk subscribers on Wednesday, Hill-Lewis poked holes in the long-marketed “Ramaphoria” phenomenon, effectively branding Ramaphosa as a president of summits, speeches and investor applause rather than jobs and economic delivery.
The unusually aggressive broadside marks a sharp political shift in tone under Hill-Lewis’s leadership and signals that the DA may be preparing to distance itself more publicly from the ANC inside the government of national unity (GNU).
The DA leader directly mocked Ramaphosa’s latest presidential newsletter, where the president reflected positively on recent investment gatherings and international business forums.
“In his newsletter this week, President Ramaphosa reported glowingly from yet another investment gathering,” Hill-Lewis wrote.
“He argues that these conferences are turning commitments into jobs. But last week, Stats SA showed that 350 000 more people were unemployed this quarter compared to the previous quarter.”
Direct assault on Ramaphosa
Hill-Lewis then delivered what may become one of the most quoted political lines against Ramaphosa this year.
“South Africa therefore does not have a shortage of investment conferences. But it does have an immense shortage of jobs,” he said.
The statement amounts to a direct assault on Ramaphosa’s economic legacy since taking office in 2018 on a wave of investor optimism and promises of reform.
For years, Ramaphosa’s presidency has leaned heavily on investment conferences, global business engagements and reform messaging aimed at restoring confidence after the Jacob Zuma era.
But Hill-Lewis suggested the glossy economic roadshows have failed to produce meaningful change for ordinary South Africans.
“Years of investment pledges, presidential conferences, economic recovery plans, social compacts and repeated promises that job creation is imminent have not resulted in job creation,” he said.
The DA leader sharpened the knife further by contrasting unemployment levels under Ramaphosa’s administration.
“When President Ramaphosa took office in 2018, the national unemployment rate was around 26.7%. Unemployment now sits at 32.7%, representing 8.1-million jobless individuals,” Hill-Lewis wrote.
The remarks are politically significant because they come from the leader of the ANC’s largest coalition partner inside the GNU.
Under former DA leader John Steenhuisen, the party often projected a more cooperative and measured relationship with Ramaphosa, presenting the GNU as a patriotic intervention to stabilise South Africa after the 2024 elections.
Public relations and empty rhetoric
Hill-Lewis, however, appears determined to redefine the political landscape ahead of the 2026 local government elections by reminding voters that the DA still considers itself an alternative government rather than an ANC extension.
In another stinging passage, Hill-Lewis accused the ANC government of creating conditions hostile to investment while simultaneously begging investors to commit capital.
“Businesses are asked to invest in a country where ports do not work properly, rail is unreliable, crime is out of control, many municipalities are failing and electricity remains too expensive and unreliable,” he said.
He repeatedly contrasted ANC governance with DA-run administrations in the Western Cape and Cape Town, arguing that DA governance produces better economic outcomes.
But perhaps the most brutal line in the letter came when Hill-Lewis reduced the ANC’s economic programme to public relations and empty rhetoric.
“While the ANC offers conferences, pledges and bromides, the DA offers a record of delivery where we govern and a reform agenda for the country,” said Hill-Lewis.
The attack is likely to deepen speculation that the DA is beginning to reposition itself more aggressively inside the GNU as frustrations mount over unemployment, economic stagnation and the slow pace of reform.
While the DA has not threatened to leave the coalition government, Hill-Lewis’s rhetoric suggests the era of carefully protecting Ramaphosa politically may be fading fast.
- DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis sharply criticized President Ramaphosa for focusing on investment conferences without delivering job creation, highlighting rising unemployment under his leadership.
- Hill-Lewis described Ramaphosa’s presidency as one of “summits, speeches and investor applause” rather than tangible economic progress, calling out the failure to convert investment pledges into jobs.
- He pointed out that unemployment has increased from 26.7% in 2018 to 32.7%, with 8.1 million South Africans unemployed, challenging Ramaphosa’s economic legacy since taking office.
- The DA leader accused the ANC government of creating a hostile investment climate due to dysfunctional infrastructure, crime, and unreliable services, contrasting this with better outcomes in DA-governed areas.
- Hill-Lewis’s aggressive stance signals a shift in the DA’s approach within the government of national unity, emphasizing the DA as a credible alternative to the ANC ahead of upcoming elections.
