Operation Vulindlela's spin masks service delivery crisis

Prof. Bheki Mngomezulu

IN OCTOBER 2020, President Cyril Ramaphosa addressed the two Houses of Parliament during the State of the Nation Address. In that meeting, he announced Operation Vulindlela with the view to boosting the country’s ailing economy and to address other pertinent issues. 

Five years down the line, the question arises: has this programme achieved its intended goal? Put differently, is there anything to celebrate with this programme? Before answering these questions, it is important to understand what Operation Vulindlela entails. 

In a nutshell, this is a joint initiative between the Office of the President and National Treasury. It is overseen by David Masondo, the Deputy Minister of Finance, who reports directly to Ramaphosa.

The programme’s primary objective is to accelerate the implementation of structural reforms to support South Africa’s economic recovery. Primarily, it aims to modernise and transform four network industries: digital communications, electricity, transport and water. Their selection was predicated on the understanding that they hold the key to the country’s economic growth. They are also considered important in the creation of a globally competitive economy. The programme aims to reform and prioritise the visa regime to boost the tourism sector. In total, 19 priority reforms in the selected focus areas were identified.

While Operation Vulindlela is a joint effort between the Presidency and National Treasury, its activities are not necessarily confined to these two units, which are responsible for overseeing the entire programme. Ministers from across various government departments are expected to implement the structural reforms in all the areas outlined above. Ideally, any delays in the implementation of government policies are expected to be addressed through Operation Vulindlela in response to societal concerns about the government’s failure to implement its policies and enacted laws. 

The three mechanisms used by Operation Vulindlela to support the implementation of reforms are the following: (i) Monitoring and reporting on progress to identify challenges, sustain momentum and ensure accountability; (ii) Facilitating technical support to enable the implementation of reforms, and (iii) Providing recommendations to the President and Cabinet where a decision or agreement is required.

On paper, this looks promising, progressive, clear, and devoid of any ambiguity. Ideally, the programme should produce positive results. However, the ongoing challenges even in the priority areas enumerated above cast doubt about the programme’s success. 

The review of Phase 1 on progress made in driving economic reforms covered the period 2020-2024. Penning the foreword to the review document, Ramaphosa boldly stated that “significant progress has been achieved since the launch of the economic reform programme in 2020.” To buttress his assertion, he highlighted that in the energy sector, the new reforms saw the private sector being allowed to participate in energy generation for the first time to improve the country’s capacity to generate more electricity. Ramaphosa argued that this move has enabled “a massive boom of investment, mostly in renewable energy sources.” 

Commenting about the logistics sector, he noted that “rapid progress is being made to reform the rail system and allow private rail operators to access the freight rail network.” He further noted progress in all the other priority areas identified at the inception of this project.

Concluding his foreword, Ramaphosa reiterated that “while there is more work to be done to reform our economy, we have come a long way since establishing Operation Vulindlela. We will not stop until we have removed the constraints on growth and build a dynamic, fast-growing and an economy that works for all South Africans.”

Indeed, such comments paint a positive picture and instil optimism among all the stakeholders saddled with the responsibility to implement this programme. 

Based on the assumed success of Phase 1 as articulated by Ramaphosa, the newly launched Phase II is titled “A second wave of reform for more rapid and inclusive economic growth.” 

Intriguingly, the first sentence in the introduction of the Phase II document admits that “South Africa’s economy has struggled to achieve the growth rate needed to boost employment and create prosperity for all.” Accounting for the reasons behind these failures, the document states that “structural constraints such as electricity shortages; unreliable freight logistics; and high levels of crime and corruption have held back investor confidence and growth.” 

Whether these reasons are honest and justifiable or not is less significant. What matters is that this document contradicts the positive picture painted by Ramaphosa when assessing the programme’s Phase 1. 

This raises several questions: To what extent can South Africa celebrate the achievements of Operation Vulindlela? Has the programme achieved its set goals? Is the President being honest in his assessment? Does the programme benefit South Africans or is it being used to benefit certain individuals who are politically connected? Importantly, is the public purse being used to address the country’s endemic challenges through this programme or is it being used to boost the President’s legacy?

Surely, there are no simple answers to these questions. However, as the saying goes, ‘numbers don’t lie’. Therefore, the best objective way to assess Operation Vulindlela is to look at some statistical data.

In Q1 of 2025 the unemployment rate stood at 32.9% up from 31.9% in Q4 of 2024. This means that the number of employed people dropped from 17.1 million in Q4 2024 to 16.8 million in Q1 of 2025.

Tourism is growing slowly at the rate of 5.97%. While attempts are being made to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic, international tourism is still 12.8% below 2019 levels. This does not reflect growth. STATS SA describes this as marking the “slow path to full recovery.”

Regarding electricity, loadshedding is on and off.

When it comes to water, South Africa is facing a critical water crisis. Rapid urbanization, population growth, and climate change are cited as some of the causal factors. But Jozini Dam in KwaZulu-Natal has more than enough water yet local communities have no running water. 

Digital communication has witnessed an improvement – but rural areas still have network challenges. Therefore, there is little to celebrate with Operation Vulindlela!

* Prof. Bheki Mngomezulu is Director of the Centre for the Advancement of Non-Racialism and Democracy at Nelson Mandela University.

** The views expressed do not necessarily reflect the views of IOL, Independent Media or The African.