South Africa’s economic reform programme is beginning to yield tangible results, but implementation, coordination and delivery capacity remain defining challenges. This was the message from Rudi Dicks, Head of the Project Management Office in the Presidency and co-lead of Operation Vulindlela, speaking in the latest PSG Think Big webinar hosted by award-winning journalist Alishia Seckam.

The PSG Think Big series promotes open dialogue and critical engagement on some of the country’s most pressing issues. In this discussion, Dicks unpacked the priorities and progress made through Operation Vulindlela – a joint initiative between the Presidency and National Treasury established in 2020 to accelerate structural reforms in key sectors such as electricity, freight logistics, water, and telecommunications.

With Phase II officially underway, Dicks pushed back at the criticism that Vulindlela is all rhetoric and no delivery. “There may be a misunderstanding about the complexities of the reforms,” he said, arguing that reforms like unbundling Transnet are transactional in nature and require specialist capacity.

Dicks pointed to telecommunications, however, as an example of rapid, observable change: spectrum was auctioned, investment flowed, and prices and connectivity began to improve.

Regarding freight logistics, where measurable change may not yet be visible on the ground, Dicks says that progress is being made. “By the middle of this year, we were able to allocate third-party access to 11 private train operating companies - they are currently in contractual negotiations with Transnet.” Once those operators mobilise rolling stock, they will take 20 million tonnes off the road onto the rail network over the next few two years . That shift, he says, will reduce damage to roads, lower logistics costs and unlock export volumes. However, the timetable depends on procurement, rolling-stock purchases and commercial contracts being concluded.

Accountability and independent measurement were recurring themes in the discussion. Dicks welcomed external scrutiny and singled out an independent tracker launched by Business Leadership South Africa as helpful in validating progress, noting a need for “independent, standalone, external verification”. He also flagged ongoing collaboration with Business for South Africa and other private-sector partners as a deliberate trust-building measure: “Collaboration builds trust.”

On local government, where dysfunctional municipalities and failing utilities choke service delivery and investor confidence, Dicks emphasised a targeted approach. Rather than tackling all municipalities, Vulindlela has prioritised metros and a set of secondary cities that account for the lion’s share of GDP and population.

In terms of reforms within local municipalities, the priorities are to stabilise metro trading services (water and electricity) and to pursue professionalisation. “It is about improving efficiency, transparency, about reducing costs, ensuring that we deliver basic services to people at the end of the day,” said Dicks.

On the question of private investment directly attributable to Vulindlela reforms that have come through, Dicks said about R500 billion worth of investment has been unlocked – 90% of which is new generation in the electricity sector. He warned, however, that while significant, this is far off from what is needed. “We require not just R500 billion, we require a trillion rand or more above what we already invested on an annual basis.”

Dicks acknowledged the dire economic consequences that organised crime and corruption is having on South Africa. “It has a 10% impact on our ability to grow.” He also acknowledged its negative impact on investor confidence, not only concerning financial investment but also building factories in South Africa. “Those are the things that we've got to fundamentally address,” he said. “Crime has a direct impact on economic growth which we've got to deal with as a matter of priority.”

Despite the hurdles, Dicks says there are signs of improved sentiment in the business environment. “In last quarter’s business indicators there was an uptick in, for example, producer sentiments, manufacturing confidence and perceptions. I think that’s important.”

But he noted that sentiment alone is not enough. “It’s about the hard implementation. It’s about the collaboration with business.”

With the greylisting matter now behind South Africa and the cost of capital becoming cheaper, Dicks believes this next phase will be crucial in demonstrating that reforms are not just policies on paper but investments in progress. “And I think we are on that track,” he said. “We’ve got to show that we can change, we can fix this economy, we can deal with our challenges, and we can work together with the private sector.”

Looking ahead, Dicks is optimistic about the tangible milestones already underway – Public-Private Partnerships (PSPs) announced, third-party train operating companies entering the freight network, and the South African wholesale electricity market launch on 1 April 2026. “These are such important indicators,” he concluded. “Ultimately, the critical test of reform success is going to be whether we can get this economy growing.”