The unemployment crisis that has long defined the economy of the North West may be showing early signs of retreat, according to Premier Lazarus Mokgosi.
Delivering his State of the Province Address on Thursday, Mokgosi placed job creation at the centre of his administration’s performance, pointing to new data from Statistics South Africa as evidence that provincial interventions are beginning to shift the dial.
“We are encouraged by the recent figures of the Quarterly Labour Force Survey, where our province created 78 000 jobs in the last two quarters of 2025, reducing official unemployment in the province by 6.2 percent, the largest decrease in the country,” Mokgosi said.
The remarks build on previous provincial commitments to confront an expanded unemployment rate that had climbed above 50%, placing the North West among the hardest-hit provinces in the country.
Now, Mokgosi argues that the turnaround is not incidental but policy-driven.
“These figures have been given impetus by the adoption of the Growth and Development Strategy, which is currently being implemented,” he said.
In positioning the province’s recovery plan, Mokgosi framed economic coordination and institutional reform as the backbone of job creation.
“In our continued efforts to revive the provincial economy and ensure a common vision for driving inclusive provincial economic growth, we have taken a decisive step towards the establishment of the North West Development Fund of about R100-million to demonstrate our commitment to economic development.”
He confirmed that the fund was registered as a non-profit company and public benefit organisation with the South African Revenue Service.
Beyond macroeconomic strategy, Mokgosi tied employment growth to infrastructure rollouts and sectoral investment.
He announced that the province was looking forward to signing a memorandum of understanding with the Central University of Technology on the filling of potholes across all municipalities in the North West, targeting 7 000 unemployed youth for job opportunities.
Tourism and logistics were also presented as employment multipliers.
“The resuscitation of the Pilanesberg International Airport, in collaboration with Infrastructure South Africa, will boost our tourism endeavours as well as rejuvenate commercial activities in the Sun City Resort and the Pilanesberg National Park,” Mokgosi said.
On industrial expansion, Mokgosi signalled further employment prospects tied to Special Economic Zones.
“An additional 12 000 jobs are on the cards as we seek to revitalise and officially license and launch the Bojanala Special Economic Zone in 2026/2027.
“The SEZ (special economic zone) is currently anchored on investments worth R12-billion, which will have a multiplier effect on secondary industries,” he said.
