DA leader Geordin Hill-Lewis has welcomed President Cyril Ramaphosa’s commitment to drive South Africa's economic growth beyond 3% through the newly launched phase of the Government-Business Partnership but warned that the scale of the country's economic crisis demands immediate, aggressive action rather than slow, marginal changes.

South Africa's unemployment rate currently sits at 33.6% and as a result, Hill-Lewis stressed that the country needs more than incremental reform.

Mining, agriculture, tourism and infrastructure have been selected under Phase 3 of the Government-Business Partnership to raise South Africa’s growth to 3% and to create one-million new jobs by 2030.

These new focus areas were unveiled in Johannesburg on Thursday by Ramaphosa and Discovery CEO Adrian Gore, a key business convenor of the partnership since its launch in 2023.

"It is the right ambition," Hill-Lewis stated. "We hope this ambition is now followed by the urgency and immediacy required by the scale of the crisis."

The President conceded, on Thursday, that the success of the new growth strategy hinges on disciplined execution and measurable accountability, rather than mere policy announcements.

Under the framework of the partnership, the State pledges to deliver policy certainty, efficient regulation, and reliable infrastructure and the business sector is urged to respond by expanding local supply chains and accelerating job creation.

As a key partner in the Government of National Unity (GNU), Hill-Lewis said the DA intends to use its executive leverage to enforce strict timelines on State promises.

He outlined the DA's core demands for the economic rollout, noting that every major economic reform must have a strict expiration date for delivery and said specific leaders, who have been named to head up efforts in four key economic sectors, must be held responsible for targets.

Hill-Lewis wants the implementation plans to be transparent so that South Africans can track progress.

"Where decisions have already been taken, particularly in energy, rail, ports, and infrastructure, we must stop talking about implementation and start implementing," he said.

The DA leader said government must cut costly administrative delays to make it easier to invest, start businesses and hire workers.

Furthermore, the DA is advocating for breaking up historical State failures by introducing market competition.

"We should welcome private capital into infrastructure and bring private expertise and competition into areas where State monopolies have failed," Hill-Lewis stated.

Punting a DA-led national government, which he hopes will replace the ANC-led GNU, he laid out the party’s promise to manage the economy with “significantly higher urgency” and evaluate policy on three metrics: its ability to attract investment, its capacity to create jobs, and its tangible impact on improving human lives.