Deputy President Paul Mashatile wishes South Africans a joyful festive season, calling for unity, compassion, and safety while celebrating progress, empowering youth, fighting gender-based violence, and embracing Ubuntu in 2026. Deputy PresidentPaul Mashatilehas wished South Africans a joyous and blessedfestive season, urging unity, compassion and renewed commitment to building a safer and more inclusive country as the year draws to a close. In a Christmas message reflecting on the year’s developments, Mashatile said the festive season was a time for families and communities to come together, share laughter and cherish the bonds that unite the nation.
He emphasised that 2025 had once again demonstrated that South Africa’s greatest strength lay not in government institutions, but in its people. “The year 2025 has reminded us that our greatest strength does not lie in the corridors of government but in the resilience and unity of our people,” Mashatile said. He added that the country’s most valuable resource was not its minerals, but “the grit, courage, and determination of all South Africans everywhere.” Reflecting on national progress, Mashatile said the country had continued to demonstrate the spirit of Ubuntu through both challenges and achievements.
He noted that South Africa recorded 0.5% gross domestic product growth in the third quarter of 2025, marking the third consecutive quarter of economic expansion. According to Mashatile, the International Monetary Fund had raised its growth forecast to 1.3% for 2025 and 1.4% for 2026, signalling growing confidence in the economy and the impact of ongoing structural reforms. He further highlighted that, for the first time in two decades, South Africa received a credit rating upgrade from Standard and Poor’s, describing it as a sign of renewed confidence in the country’s economic trajectory.
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Mashatile also pointed to youth empowerment initiatives, saying that in 2025 government had placed 200,000 young people in first-job experiences through the Youth Employment Service. Other achievements cited included progress in managing the energy crisis, boosting tourism, improving revenue collection, convening the first Convention ofNational Dialogueand successfully hosting the G20 Presidency.
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