Uhlelo oluvulekile lokuhweba ukuhweba afl. The specific requirements or preferences of your reviewing publisher, classroom teacher, institution or organization should be applied. This study investigated teachers' and learners' perceptions of the causes of poor performance in Mathematics among Grade 9 learners in Durban's Ethusini Circuit of KwaZulu-Natal Province. By using a phenomenographic research design, a sample of 15 Grade 9 learners who take Mathematics, one Grade 9 Mathematics teacher and one Mathematics head of department was selected purposively from three high schools in the Ethusini Circuit. The three schools are one former model C school, one ordinary government school and one private school. Focus group and semi-structured interviews were used to collect data from the participants. The data were analysed by transcribing the focus group and semi-structured interviews; thereafter, the transcriptions were coded into themes and categories. The results of this study indicate that teachers and learners perceive that poor performance in Mathematics in Grade 9 is due to CAPS curriculum challenges, such as overloaded and advanced content, and insufficient time to complete the curriculum. Parental support, English (first additional language) as a language of learning and teaching, methods of teaching (such as the talk and chalk method), and learners' negative attitude towards Mathematics were also cited. From these findings, recommendations for revisiting the CAPS curriculum and other areas of need, as well as topics for future research were suggested.