Tracking progress. Ensuring accountability.

GNU performance
tracker.

ActionSA runs a public index that monitors South Africa's Government of National Unity against benchmarks drawn from government's own targets, international best practice and ActionSA policy positions. It is updated regularly so citizens can see where government is succeeding and where it is falling short. The figures below are highlights from the tracker; the live version carries the full detail.

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Ethical leadership and public service

The cost of the cabinet

6th administration

R1,75bn

30 Ministers and 36 Deputy Ministers.

The GNU

R2bn

32 Ministers and 43 Deputy Ministers: R239 million a year added to the cabinet budget.

ActionSA's alternative

R530m

A lean cabinet of no more than 20 Ministers, with all Deputy Minister posts abolished and perks curtailed.

Each Minister costs

R8,9m

R2,69 million salary plus R6,2 million in support staff, per year.

Source: tracker, citing parliamentary replies, the national budget and the Ministerial Handbook

Each Deputy Minister costs

R7,4m

R2,215 million salary plus R5,2 million in support staff, per year.

Source: as above

VIP protection

R4,5bn

Annual cost of protecting the President, Deputy President, Ministers, Deputies and other dignitaries.

Source: as above

The tracker's running total for ministerial travel and luxury spending stood at R528 250 116 since July 2024, as updated on 4 March 2026, with International Relations (R37,39m), Defence (R34,2m) and Human Settlements (R32,98m) topping the departmental list and the Presidency's Minister failing to disclose an amount.

Sign the cut the cabinet petition

The economy

Growth, jobs and small business

GDP growth

1,9%

First quarter of 2026, after 0,6% in 2024 and 1,1% in 2025, against ActionSA's minimum benchmark of 3%.

Source: tracker, citing StatsSA

Small business index

51,08

National Small Business Growth Index score, in the vulnerability band, against a benchmark of 75 which indicates conditions for sustainable growth.

Source: tracker, citing the Absa SBGI with SACCI and UNISA's BMR

Unemployment benchmark

<30%

ActionSA's challenge to government on the expanded unemployment rate, a level last achieved in 2008.

Source: tracker, citing StatsSA
Services, education and safety

The dignity measures

Basic sanitation

~16%

Roughly 16 to 17% of households lacked access to basic sanitation across the 2023 to 2025 readings, against a benchmark of 0% by 2030 in line with the National Development Plan.

Source: tracker, citing StatsSA

Student support

777 646

Students funded by NSFAS in 2023, down from 810 376 in 2022, against ActionSA's benchmark of one million a year. The 2024 annual report was still outstanding.

Source: tracker, citing NSFAS annual reports

Safety benchmarks

<38

Murders per day by 2029, half the current rate, plus fewer than 75 reported sexual offences per day by 2029: the tracker's law and order challenges to government.

Source: tracker, citing SAPS

All figures on this page are as published on ActionSA's GNU performance tracker (page updated June 2026; running total updated 4 March 2026), which cites StatsSA, SAPS, National Treasury, the SARB, NSFAS, the World Bank and parliamentary replies as its underlying sources. For the complete and most current set of metrics, including ports, freight rail, Eskom's energy availability, inflation, debt service costs, global competitiveness and the real matric pass rate, open the live tracker.

Open the live tracker