The Presidency and National Treasury have today, Monday 9 May 2022, released a progress report on Operation Vulindlela for the first quarter of 2022.

Operation Vulindlela was established in October 2020 as a joint initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury to accelerate the implementation of structural reforms.

Working with a wide range of government departments and state-owned enterprises, Operation Vulindlela is driving a far-reaching economic reform agenda which will fundamentally transform South Africa’s economy.

The report provides a detailed update on progress in the implementation of priority reforms in five focus areas: electricity, transport, water, telecommunications and the visa regime.

It demonstrates significant progress on several important commitments, including the following key achievements to date:

The raising of the licensing threshold for new grid-connected generation projects to 100 MW, unlocking significant private investment in embedded generation and allowing the sale of electricity to multiple customers.

 The release of Bid Windows 5 and 6 of the renewable energy programme opened, for a combined 5200 MW of wind and solar PV capacity.

 The publication of the Electricity Regulation Amendment Bill to enable a competitive electricity market.

 The establishment of the National Transmission Company as part of Eskom’s unbundling process. The combined reforms in the energy space will reduce the risk of load shedding and enable faster economic growth.

 The successful completion of the spectrum auction to improve network quality and reduce the cost of data.

 The establishment of the National Ports Authority as a subsidiary of Transnet, creating incentives for greater efficiency and lower cost by enabling private sector participation in port operations.

The finalisation of the White Paper on National Rail Policy to guide reform in the rail sector.

The development and implementation of a turnaround plan to reduce the processing time for water use license applications from over 300 days to under 90 days.

The reinstatement of the Blue Drop, Green Drop and No Drop water quality monitoring system to enable swift intervention where municipalities fail to meet norms and standards for water quality and wastewater treatment.

The publication of a revised Critical Skills List for the first time since 2014 will allow businesses to fill critical vacancies.

The launch of the e-Visa system in 14 countries, including major new tourist markets such as China, India, Kenya and Nigeria.

The report also highlights work underway to accelerate the implementation of additional reforms.

The full report can be downloaded at https://www.stateofthenation.gov.za/operation-vulindlela

Issued by Tyrone Seale, Acting Spokesperson to the President, 10 May 2022