SIVIO Institute and ACT Ubumbano launch first anniversary report of the Government of National Unity’s progress towards Accountability
On the 16th of September 2025, in the Origins Centre at the University of the Witwatersrand, SIVIO Institute, in partnership with Act Ubumbano, was joined by researchers, civil society leaders, community advocates, and members of the media to launch Finding Their Feet: South Africa’s Government of National Unity First Anniversary Report. This is a first anniversary report that assesses the progress made in delivering on the 121 promises made by the GNU through President Cyril Ramaphosa’s Opening of Parliament address and in the Medium-Term Development Plan.
This launch of the GNU report sought initiate the Accountability Project, a citizen-led movement to track government performance beyond elections. Positioned by ACT Ubumbano’s Ashley Green-Thompson as a response to democratic fatigue, it promotes community-driven monitoring, cross-provincial solidarity, and grassroots pilots to amplify local voices and reshape accountability in practice.
Tendai Murisa of SIVIO Institute unpacked the methodology behind the African Citizens Watch platform, which scores government actions in real time across five clusters: economy, governance, corruption, climate change, and social services. Yolokazi Mfuto, the country researcher for South Africa, presented the findings of this report. So far, the government has shown 9% progress; no promises have been fully implemented yet. Read the summary of the report to explore insights from the report.
Some of the key reflections across the five sectors are highlighted below.
- Economy (44 promises):
Progress is slow (12%), with disputes over a proposed VAT increase causing budget delays and uncertainty among investors. Some progress has been made (passing of the Appropriation Bill) on land reform and the small business support fund. - Governance (22 promises):
Limited progress (4%), mostly through Operation Vulindlela Phase II and a digital transformation roadmap. Broader reforms remain stalled. - Corruption (7 promises):
Partial progress (15%) with asset recovery efforts, but no notable progress on key promises such as independent anti-corruption bodies and State-Owned Enterprises reform. - Climate Change (6 promises):
No progress (0%), despite urgent national and global need. - Social Services (42 promises):
Some action (11%), particularly in education (school infrastructure, daily meals, Basic Education Laws Amendment Act). However, budget cuts undermined gains, with severe impacts on health, housing, and social protection.
A panel discussion followed to respond to the report findings. Matshidiso Lencoasa (Section 27 and Budget Justice Coalition) emphasised budget transparency and citizen participation in fiscal decisions. Brian Adams (Surplus People Project) spoke on rural realities, land justice, and the gap between national promises and local delivery, and Eddah Jowah (SIVIO institute), leading the African Citizens Watch project, illustrated how government performance tracking has been across the region, drawing similarities and differences, and stressed the need for citizen engagement in data collection.
This event and the report findings were widely shared by several media stations, such as SABC News Channel Africa, Mail and Guardian, IOL, Cape Argus and Polity News. We are grateful for the participation and collaboration of partners in advocating for a more accountable South Africa. The fruit of democracy must be felt and experienced by all.
