The National Planning Commission (NPC) and Operation Vulindlela have announced that they intend working together to support the implementation of the structural reforms identified as a constraint to higher levels of growth and job creation.

The two entities met on May 26, where Operation Vulindlela provided a progress report on the five priority areas for economic reform, including:

• reforms in the electricity sector designed to stabilise energy supply, reduce the risk of load-shedding and accelerate the transition to renewable energy;
• reforms in the digital communications sector to reduce the cost of data and broadband, expand Internet access to low-income households and unlock new investment in telecommunications infrastructure;
• reforms in the water sector to increase investment in the maintenance and construction of water infrastructure and to improve water quality;
• reforms in the transport sector to improve the efficiency of South Africa’s freight logistics infrastructure; and
• reforms to the visa regime so as to attract skills and promote tourism.

Modelling by the National Treasury indicates that the reforms, if implemented, can raise economic growth significantly beyond the current sub-2% level and create over a million jobs, relative to a scenario absent any reforms being pursued.

In a recent speech, Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana reported that the reforms in digital communications had led to a successful allocation of high-demand spectrum, which had raised R8-billion for the fiscus and was expected to unlock R50-billion in new investment.

Reforms in the freight transport and electricity sectors faced implementation challenges. If addressed, however, the Minister said they could stimulate R58-billion in new transport investment and R54-billion in embedded generation investment.

“Over the coming months, we will redouble our efforts to resolve the energy crisis and ensure that the reforms facing implementation challenges access the support they need to progress, because we are committed to unlocking the dynamism of this economy and placing our growth on a permanently higher trajectory,” Godongwana said.

At the NPC meeting, it was decided that the two entities would engage regularly to help shape Operation Vulindlela’s list of economic priorities, particularly as implementation progress is made and further interventions identified.

The third NPC, which was appointed by President Cyril Ramaphosa in December, has made implementation of the National Development Plan (NDP), which is approaching its tenth anniversary, a top priority.

The NDP highlights several areas in need of urgent reform to meet the goals of ending extreme poverty and reducing unemployment and inequality by 2030.

It is widely accepted, however, that the targets will not be met given a combination of poor implementation of the plan and a series of subsequent crises, including the Covid pandemic, which have resulted in regression rather than progress in meeting the NDP goals.