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.
Ethical leadership and public service
The cost of the cabinet
6th administration
30 Ministers and 36 Deputy Ministers.
The GNU
32 Ministers and 43 Deputy Ministers: R239 million a year added to the cabinet budget.
ActionSA's alternative
A lean cabinet of no more than 20 Ministers, with all Deputy Minister posts abolished and perks curtailed.
Each minister costs
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
R2,215 million salary plus R5,2 million in support staff, per year.
Source: as above
VIP protection
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.
The economy
Growth, jobs and small business
GDP growth
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
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
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
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
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
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.