June 30 Marches Signal Unemployment And Economic Exclusion — Kzn Premier Ntuli

KwaZulu-Natal Premier Thamsanqa Ntuli says the huge turnout of working-age adults during business hours at the June 30 marches across the province highlights issues around unemployment and economic exclusion. 

“The scale of their presence in the streets during normal working hours is not merely a logistical observation. It is a signal. It tells us something about the depth of unemployment and economic exclusion that exist in our communities,” Ntuli said, adding that employed people are not ordinarily available in such numbers on a Tuesday morning.

He noted that the frustration that drove people to march is not simply about undocumented migrants, but at its root about competition for scarce work, pressure on housing, schooling, healthcare, and public safety. He added that it also reflects communities that have waited too long for an economy that includes them.

“It is against this background that under our programme, Engangeni Ngesango Iyafohla, I’ve convened a special roundtable, but now we’ll convene another one which will be about local economic development as early as next week. With a specific and deliberate focus on spaza shops,” Ntuli said. 

“One of the sharpest grievances to emerge from Tuesday marches was the presence of undocumented foreign nationals operating unlawfully in our township and rural areas. Competing unfairly and, in many cases, illegally with South African traders in the very communities those traders call home.” 

The premier clarified that while it is not a new concern and government has been working to address it, marches require that work to be expedited. 

Ntuli said the roundtable will unite the Department of Economic Development, Tourism and Environmental Affairs, Department of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs, Ithala Development Finance Corporation, KZN chambers of commerce, business associations, municipalities and relevant stakeholders. They will interrogate what is working, what is not, and what must be done differently to ensure that South African-owned township and rural enterprises are supported, protected, and given every opportunity to grow. 

“It must be clear that our existing government programmes on spaza shop support, including formalisation, access to finance, business development services, and supply chain integration, are not being invented in response to this moment. They existed before the march,” Ntuli said. 

He said the roundtable will ensure that the programmes are implemented with the urgency and scale that this moment demands. 

Ntuli said marchers deserve action and not just listening. They deserve to see within days and weeks, not months and years, that their government is capable of translating their frustration into economic opportunity, he said. 

Meanwhile, in May, Statistics SA said that according to the Quarterly Labour Force Survey (QLFS), South Africa’s working-age population was at 42.2 million individuals aged 15-64 in the first quarter of 2026, up by 121,000 compared to quarter 4 of 2025.

Of the 42.2 million individuals in the working-age population, 21.0 million (i.e. 49.7%) were aged 15-34 years. In Q1:2026, 5.6 million young people aged 15-34 were employed, while 4.7 million were unemployed, and the remaining 10.6 million were outside the labour force.

It said that the national unemployment rate stood at 32.7% in Q1:2026. Those aged 15-24 faced the highest unemployment rate at 60.9%, followed by those aged 25-34 at 40.6%.

thobeka.ngema@inl.co.za