The Government Business Partnership has agreed to what is being described as an “intensified phase” of delivery on the priority interventions vital to economic growth and job creation following a recent meeting between Cabinet Ministers and senior South African business leaders.

The agreement was announced following the launch of Operation Vulindlela Phase II, which incorporates three new reform priorities, including tackling metropolitan council decline, spatial inequality and digital transformation, alongside the four original focus areas of electricity, logistics, water, and visa reform.

At the meeting senior business leaders participating in the Government Business Partnership welcomed the launch of Operation Vulindlela Phase II but also reaffirmed that the partnership would continue with the focus areas selected in 2023, which included energy, logistics, crime and corruption, and youth employment.

However, Adrian Gore, who is a business co-convenor of the partnership, said that it was also agreed that a step-change in the pace of decision-making and execution was required in light of recent downward revisions to South Africa’s growth outlook.

The International Monetary Fund has lowered its 2025 growth forecast for South Africa to only 1% from 1.5%, and it is likely that the National Treasury will moderate the 1.9% growth outlook published in February when making a third attempt on May 21 to pass a Budget for 2025/26.

This, even though the downgrades were announced at the peak of the tariff wars that unfolded after US President Donald Trump announced a slew of so-called reciprocal tariffs before pausing them on all countries but China. However, on May 12 the US and China also announced a 90-day pause, which could help avert the big slump in global growth that was being forecast previously.

Nevertheless, whatever new growth forecast is announced by the National Treasury, it is certain to remain well below the minimum 3% target that the Government Business Partnership has indicated is required to begin reducing South Africa’s extremely high unemployment rate.

“We are entering this accelerated execution ‘sprint’ with a real sense of urgency,” Gore said in a statement, warning that the progress made to date had been insufficient.

“We need to redouble our collective efforts to help shift the country onto a sustained upward trajectory and deliver on our shared ambition of a virtuous cycle of growth, jobs, a more positive narrative and increased investment,” he added.

In the area of electricity, the partnership would continue to pursue improvements to Eskom’s energy availability factor and unblocking delays to the introduction of new generation to keep loadshedding at bay, including by resolving grid-access and allocation bottlenecks.

President Cyril Ramaphosa used the launch of the second phase of Operation Vulindlela to highlight plans to procure more than 1 000 km of grid infrastructure from private Independent Transmission Projects, as well as to recommit to the establishment of an independent Transmission System Operator to create a level playing field for competition.

At Transnet, meanwhile, the partnership was focusing on growing volumes, partly through the stabilisation of the State-owned entity and partly by opening the rail and ports systems to private-sector participation.

“Important progress has been made to lay the groundwork for sustained accelerated action, including the finalisation of the Transnet Network Statement, the launch of a request for information to attract private investment in port and rail infrastructure, and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s approval of electricity wheeling regulations.

“These reforms enable broader private-sector participation in energy and transportation and logistics.

“Both the crime and corruption and the youth employment focal areas are largely tracking against their plans which have a longer-term time horizon,” a joint statement released by the partnership stated.