Statistician General, Risenga Maluleke,
Leadership of Statistics South Africa,
Colleagues,

As we begin a new year and prepare for the new financial cycle ahead, I would like to take this opportunity to wish you and your families a productive, healthy, and successful year. May 2026 be a year of clarity, impact, and renewed purpose in the important work that you do.

I am honoured to join you today as you finalise your preparations and plans for the new financial year, commencing in April. These planning sessions are critical moments where reflection meets foresight, and where evidence is translated into action.

As we begin this planning cycle, it is important to situate our work within the broader policy architecture of Government. All our plans, programmes, and priorities are anchored in the Medium-Term Development Plan, the MTDP, which serves as the central strategic framework guiding the work of the 7th Administration.

The MTDP is not an abstract policy instrument. It is a practical roadmap that translates electoral mandates into measurable outcomes, sets national priorities, and provides the basis for accountability across Government. It is therefore essential that the Integrated Business Planning of Statistics South Africa is fully aligned to the MTDP, ensuring that the data we produce directly supports national planning, monitoring, and evaluation.

In this regard, Statistics South Africa occupies a unique and indispensable position. The MTDP relies on credible, timely, and high-quality statistics to track progress, identify risks early, and enable corrective action where implementation falls short. Without reliable data, the MTDP cannot succeed, and without Stats SA, evidence-led governance cannot be realised.

The importance of Statistics South Africa cannot be overstated. Every sector of our economy and society relies on credible, scientific evidence to create clarity and enable informed, responsible decision-making. In many respects, the work you do forms the backbone of effective governance, economic planning, and social development.

We are living in profoundly VUCA times. Volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity define our global and national context. The pace of change is relentless, risks are increasingly interconnected, and shocks are no longer isolated events. The Global Risks Report released this week by the World Economic Forum reminds us that climate instability, geopolitical tensions, economic fragility, technological disruption, and misinformation are converging in ways that continue to test institutions and leadership worldwide.

In such an environment, now more than ever, decision-making must be anchored in scientific, informed, and credible data. Intuition alone is no longer sufficient. Opinion is no substitute for evidence. Policy, planning, and investment choices that are not data-driven risk being ineffective at best and harmful at worst.

In a world overflowing with information and changing daily, it is you, the statisticians, data scientists, analysts, administrators, and researchers, who transform complexity into understanding and uncertainty into direction.

Statistics is not simply about numbers. It is the language of progress. It is the foundation of accountability. It is the compass that guides industries, institutions, and communities toward better choices. Every dataset you clean, every model you test, every trend you uncover contributes to something far greater than a report or a spreadsheet. It contributes to trust, something our country needs now more than ever.

It is this trust that gives Statistics South Africa a competitive and strategic advantage within the broader data ecosystem. This is an important position to hold and one that comes with both responsibility and influence.

We live in an era where evidence must compete with opinion, where misinformation spreads faster than insight, and where narratives can overshadow facts. Yet time and again, your work lights the path forward. You help government allocate resources more fairly and competently. You help us plan for a more resilient future. You enable businesses to innovate more intelligently. You support academic institutions in re-skilling the next generation of leaders. Ultimately, you help society understand itself accurately, honestly, and with precision.

But our work is far from finished.

The realities we face today demand even more from us. Global and national climate patterns are shifting dramatically. We see this clearly in the recent flooding in Limpopo and Mpumalanga, where lives have tragically been lost. At the same time, we continue to grapple with persistent challenges such as the school placement crisis, where many children remain without access to education despite the availability of data that should guide effective planning and early intervention.

SG Maluleke and fellow colleagues, while we celebrate the critical role that Statistics South Africa plays, we must also speak honestly about the challenges that continue to surface in Parliament and oversight forums.

Members of Parliament have consistently raised concerns regarding the vacancy rate within Statistics South Africa. Capacity constraints, particularly in specialised and technical areas, place real pressure on the institution's ability to deliver on its expanding mandate. A strong statistical system requires skilled people, institutional memory, and stability.

Funding constraints have also been a recurring issue. Parliament has repeatedly emphasised that the sustainability of the national statistical system cannot be taken for granted. Underfunding does not only affect outputs. It affects data quality, innovation, responsiveness, and the ability of Stats SA to keep pace with emerging demands such as big data, predictive analytics, and integrated data systems.

In addition, the implementation of the Statistics Amendment Act remains a matter of keen interest to Parliament. The Act strengthens the coordination of official statistics across the state and reinforces the authority of the Statistician-General. Effective implementation is therefore essential to reduce duplication, improve coherence, and build a truly integrated national statistical system.

These are not criticisms for their own sake. They are signals from Parliament that Statistics South Africa matters, that expectations are high, and that the institution is seen as a cornerstone of a capable and developmental state.

As the Executive, we take these matters seriously. Addressing capacity, funding sustainability, and legislative implementation is not optional. It is fundamental to ensuring that Stats SA can continue to serve Cabinet, Parliament, and the people of South Africa with credibility and excellence.

Colleagues, the priorities of the 7th Administration are clear and deliberate. Cabinet has committed itself to accelerating inclusive economic growth, reducing poverty and inequality, strengthening state capability, improving service delivery, and restoring public trust in institutions.

Central to these priorities is the ability of the State to plan effectively, allocate resources strategically, and measure impact honestly. This is where Statistics South Africa becomes a strategic partner to Cabinet, not merely a technical institution.

Whether we are focusing on employment creation, infrastructure development, social protection, education outcomes, health systems, or spatial inequality, Cabinet decisions are only as good as the data that informs them. Stats SA provides the evidence base that allows Cabinet to prioritise correctly, intervene decisively, and assess whether policy choices are delivering real change in people's lives.

As the 7th Administration intensifies its focus on implementation, impact, and accountability, the demand for high-quality, disaggregated, and timely data will only grow. Your work is therefore not peripheral to the Cabinet agenda. It is central to it.

This raises important questions for all of us.

What is the role of Statistics South Africa in ensuring that data does not simply exist, but meaningfully informs planning and decision-making? Should we, as a country, be leveraging our statistical capabilities more assertively in predictive analytics and scenario planning to anticipate risks, allocate resources proactively, and strengthen long-term resilience?

As technology accelerates, as challenges become more interconnected, and as citizens rightly demand transparency and accountability, the role of the statistics community becomes not just relevant but indispensable.

We must continue to push boundaries.
We must strengthen ethical standards.
We must embrace innovation.
And we must deliberately cultivate the next generation of experts who will carry this mission forward.

Let us be creative.
Let us innovate boldly.
Let us be relentless in our pursuit of truth.
And let us serve the citizens of this country with respect, integrity, and excellence.
When data is respected, democracy is strengthened.

When decisions are informed, lives are improved.

You are not merely working with numbers. You are shaping the future of this country.

Every insight you produce is a building block toward a more just, more strategic, and more resilient South Africa.

I wish you every success in the year ahead.

Thank you for the work you do.
Thank you for your excellence.
And thank you for your unwavering commitment to truth.

Your industry matters.
Your contribution matters.
And your future has never been more important.

I thank you.