Source: Government of South Africa
In his weekly newsletter on Monday, President Cyril Ramaphosa says government is making “significant progress” in clearing obstacles, with a clear view to enhance economic growth.
Last week, government released the report on Operation Vulindlela, detailing the government-wide initiative, which is aimed at accelerating progress on economic reform.
“This report shows that the economic reform programme is making steady progress, opening the way to more rapid, inclusive and sustainable growth and job creation. We established Operation Vulindlela in the Sixth Administration to remove the binding constraints that have long held back our economy’s growth: an unreliable energy supply, inefficient rail and ports, high data costs, and a visa system that had deterred investors and tourists.
“We have made significant progress since then in clearing these obstacles, with a clear view to enhance economic growth,” he said.
The President cited the reduction in load shedding, a downturn in the cost of mobile data, quickening turnaround times for approval of water use licenses and clearing of the visa backlog as some examples of progress.
Now, the second phase of Operation Vulindlela will “build on these successes and initiate a second wave of reform”.
The targeted areas include:
- Moving towards a competitive electricity market, which will introduce greater competition in electricity generation and reduce the chances of experiencing load shedding again. The reform underway in the energy sector will introduce greater choice for consumers and drive down costs.
- The Rail Infrastructure Manager was established as a separate operating division of Transnet with its own management and reporting structure. It has made capacity available across the freight rail network to private train operating companies and has received 98 requests for access to date.
- A request for information for private sector participation projects in the rail system and ports has received a strong response from the market and will enable government to mobilise new investment to modernise and expand logistics infrastructure.
- An Electronic Travel Authorisation system has been developed by the Department of Home Affairs and is being prepared to go live in September 2025.
Critically, the local government system is also eyed for reform to “ensure that basic services such as water and electricity – which are essential for economic growth – are delivered efficiently and reliably”.
“Several metros have submitted plans for the turnaround of their water and electricity utilities that outline a clear pathway for the ring-fencing of water and electricity services.
“Progress against these action plans will enable these municipalities to access a new performance-based incentive from National Treasury to drive much greater investment in water and electricity infrastructure,” the President explained.
He emphasised that the reforms are targeted at boosting economic growth and job creation.
“The claims by some opposition parties that these reforms represent a form of privatisation are baseless and misguided. The measures we are taking are common sense reforms that will preserve public ownership of key infrastructure, while introducing greater competition, dynamism and investment.
“A number of our peer countries introduced similar reforms, which have powered their economies to higher levels of growth.
“Even as the world faces difficult economic headwinds, our economic reform agenda will create the conditions for higher growth and investment, while renewing our infrastructure for generations to come,” President Ramaphosa said. – SAnews.gov.za