By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Government released the third quarter Operation Vulindlela Progress Report, which highlighted key reform milestones achieved across priority areas between October and December 2025.
Established in October 2020, Operation Vulindlela is a joint initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury to accelerate the implementation of priority structural reforms that support economic growth, improve service delivery, and strengthen State capability.
The report has again identified Eskom’s restructuring as a reform area “facing significant challenges” and where intervention is required.
The reforms form part of the implementation of the Electricity Regulation Amendment Act 38 of 2024, which came into force on Jan. 1, 2025, after being enacted in August 2024.
The revised approach risks jeopardizing the Just Transition Partnership aimed at reducing coal dependency.
It may also hamper Eskom’s ability to finance the construction of as much as 14 000 kilometers of new transmission lines.
More than 100 countries have gone through a similar breakup exercise — including the UK, Russia and India — and have established independent entities.
Speaking at the launch of the third quarter progress report in Sandton, Presidency’s Rudi Dicks attributed the lack of progress being made in relation to Eskom’s restructuring to it being a complex intervention that required various interrelated reform reform being implemented in sequence.
“So, the reforms in the electricity sector are likely to be pushed out slightly, because we have got to follow particular processes … but the commitment remains that we continue with the restructuring of the electricity sector and Eskom “Dicks said.
He also underlined the importance government was assigning to competition as a way of helping to tackle the steep rise in electricity costs, which was threatening various industries and placing serious strain on households.
The latest update also lists the steps that would be taken to support the ongoing reforms of Eskom and the sector in the coming six months, including developing a detailed implementation plan by March for the establishment of the Transmission System Operator (TSO) and implementing measures to ensure functional independence of the National Transmission Company South Africa (NTCSA) during the transition period.
Deputy Minister in the Presidency Nonceba Mhlauli emphasised that the reform momentum has strengthened, while the State is increasingly moving from planning to delivery.
“As the President has said, we are seeing important green shoots in the economy. Four consecutive quarters of positive economic growth, declining unemployment, a strengthening currency, and rising commodity prices are all acting as powerful tailwinds for our economic recovery.
“The reform programme that we are pursuing through Operation Vulindlela is essential to ensure that these positive indicators result in a sustained shift in our economic trajectory, rather than a temporary lift in growth. Ultimately, these reforms – whether in the energy, water and logistics sectors or in the immigration system – are about unlocking much higher rates of fixed investment in the economy and powering long-term growth,” the Deputy Minister said.
In the third quarter of 2025, Statistics South Africa (Stats SA) reported that the unemployment rate fell to 31.9%, down by 1.3 percentage points from the previous quarter.
The real gross domestic product (GDP) expanded by 0.5% in the third quarter (July – September) of 2025, following an increase of 0.9% in the second quarter of 2025.