South Africa unveils second phase of reform initiative

As South Africa on Wednesday launches the second phase of Operation Vulindlela, an initiative to accelerate structural reforms and economic recovery, President Cyril Ramaphosa hailed the promising signs of growth and improvements achieved across sectors during the first phase.

Ramaphosa said at the launching event in Pretoria, the country’s administrative capital, that substantial reforms have been achieved in key sectors such as energy, transport, water, and telecommunications since phase one’s implementation in 2020.

“Operation Vulindlela is driving reforms to transform the rail and logistics sector. We need bold, far-reaching reform to revive and reshape our economy. Our immediate priority is to follow through on those reforms that are already underway to realize their full impact,” said the president.

During the event, it was revealed that a total of 500 billion rand (about 27.5 billion U.S. dollars) had been unlocked in the energy sector alone over the past four years. Ramaphosa attributed the turnaround in the energy sector, particularly the significant reduction in power outages, to the first phase of Operation Vulindlela.

Ramaphosa said key objectives will be established through phase two, adding that one of the key reform areas involves strengthening the functionality of local governments. Specifically, he emphasized the importance of digital transformation and the need to employ skilled individuals at the municipal level to enhance administrative capacity.

Operation Vulindlela is a collaborative initiative between the presidency and the National Treasury that aims to drive “structural reforms” to improve economic growth. The first phase was launched in October 2020 to deal with the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.