Operation Vulindlela (meaning opening the way) is a joint initiative between the office of the Presidency and National Treasury to accelerate the implementation of structural reforms and support economic recovery.
Operation Vulindlela was launched in 2020 to address key bottlenecks in five key focus areas:
- Energy – to improve electricity supply by restructuring Eskom, enabling private sector power generation, and unbundling transmission.
- Logistics – to improve efficiency at ports and rail through reforms at Transnet.
- Water Infrastructure – to strengthen governance and investment in water systems.
- Telecommunications – to expand broadband access by releasing spectrum for mobile networks.
- Ease of doing business – to reduce red tape and improve investment conditions.
We are five years into the project, and let’s say that the progress has been mixed. You could argue that the situation at Eskom has improved, but load shedding continues. The scheduled load shedding has been greatly reduced, and we were almost getting used to having no cuts, until recently. The drive to encourage private enterprise and households to install solar has produced a great result, which has helped to take pressure off the grid.
Private sector participation has increased to help alleviate the pressure that Transnet faces of decaying infrastructure. Recently Kumba Iron Ore has pushed Transnet to give a third party the concession to run the rail line from their Sishen mine to the port in Saldana. A year ago this was rejected by Transnet, but now it seems that there is more open negotiation on the possibility.
There has been less progress on the other three focus areas, although the Development Bank of South Africa did extend a loan of $172 million in 2023 to the Lesotho Highlands Water Project to complete Phase II of the project by 2028. This should improve the provision of water to South Africa’s industrial hub when it has been completed.
Paul Mashatile, our Deputy President, said in an interview with the Financial Times last year, that the ANC no longer regards privatisation as a “swear word” and has accepted that “bringing private sector money on board is not selling your soul”. The ANC is unlikely to take the route of privatisation of any of the state-owned enterprises, but the fact that they are willing to work with the private sector is a step in the right direction.
And the private sector is stepping up to the challenge. Adrian Gore of Discovery said of Ramaphosa’s forecast that he could grow the economy by three percent by the end of 2025: “It’s a massive stretch, but then ending loadshedding was a massive stretch. This can be done if we push really hard.”
Operation Vulindlela is such good idea, but sadly it faces many headwinds that slow it down or complicate the implementation of structural reforms. These include a mix of institutional weaknesses, political pushback, and policy inconsistency. However, if reforms continue and the private sector involvement increases, there is potential for long-term improvement.
Operation Vulindlela
Operation Vulindlela (meaning opening the way) is a joint initiative between the office of the Presidency and National Treasury to accelerate the implementation of structural reforms and support economic recovery.
Operation Vulindlela was launched in 2020 to address key bottlenecks in five key focus areas:
We are five years into the project, and let’s say that the progress has been mixed. You could argue that the situation at Eskom has improved, but load shedding continues. The scheduled load shedding has been greatly reduced, and we were almost getting used to having no cuts, until recently. The drive to encourage private enterprise and households to install solar has produced a great result, which has helped to take pressure off the grid.
Private sector participation has increased to help alleviate the pressure that Transnet faces of decaying infrastructure. Recently Kumba Iron Ore has pushed Transnet to give a third party the concession to run the rail line from their Sishen mine to the port in Saldana. A year ago this was rejected by Transnet, but now it seems that there is more open negotiation on the possibility.
There has been less progress on the other three focus areas, although the Development Bank of South Africa did extend a loan of $172 million in 2023 to the Lesotho Highlands Water Project to complete Phase II of the project by 2028. This should improve the provision of water to South Africa’s industrial hub when it has been completed.
Paul Mashatile, our Deputy President, said in an interview with the Financial Times last year, that the ANC no longer regards privatisation as a “swear word” and has accepted that “bringing private sector money on board is not selling your soul”. The ANC is unlikely to take the route of privatisation of any of the state-owned enterprises, but the fact that they are willing to work with the private sector is a step in the right direction.
And the private sector is stepping up to the challenge. Adrian Gore of Discovery said of Ramaphosa’s forecast that he could grow the economy by three percent by the end of 2025: “It’s a massive stretch, but then ending loadshedding was a massive stretch. This can be done if we push really hard.”
Operation Vulindlela is such good idea, but sadly it faces many headwinds that slow it down or complicate the implementation of structural reforms. These include a mix of institutional weaknesses, political pushback, and policy inconsistency. However, if reforms continue and the private sector involvement increases, there is potential for long-term improvement.
Asset Class Returns
The table below represents a rolling year view of the major asset class returns that we track. It offers a view of the asset classes we use to diversify your portfolio.