South Africa should be afraid, very afraid. The numbers from Stats SA yesterday are frightening. Unemployment has shot up to 25.5% in the third quarter of this year and looks likely to rise again in the fourth.The picture on the ground offers little hope as more and more people take to the streets demanding a better tomorrow from the government.Students have set the tone by forcing the government to freeze university fees for the coming academic year.The time has come for the ANC-led government, and the opposition parties and the private sector, to discuss how we get out of this quagmire.There is no winner when 5.4million of our people are unemployed.Even more shocking is that the number of discouraged work-seekers keeps growing.We have to stop politicking and find answers to our problems.There is nothing wrong in President Jacob Zuma and captains of industry and other organisations sitting down and talking about how to deal with this crisis.But there is everything wrong with our politicians continuing to try to score cheap political points at the expense of our people.There are some who say that our economic fate is sealed and is dictated by outside forces.They say a change of government is the solution to our problems.We should not allow ourselves to stop seeking solutions to our problems through dialogue and engagement.If the ANC is voted out it will not prevent the majority being cornered by poverty.Our survival as a nation is linked to the economy and how we create a better tomorrow for our children.Let's remember that the unemployment numbers released yesterday have faces. They represent hopes and dreams held hostage by an economy that is on its knees. Let's wake up...