JOHANNESBURG - While South Africa’s reform programme continues to advance, there is a concerning backwards movement in the electricity sector, alongside slower momentum across governance reforms.
This is according to the latest report by Business Leadership SA’s second Reform Tracker Quartely Review.
According to the overall reform, the country's score rose to 23.7 percent since tracking began in March 2024.
The tracker monitors 245 reform deliverables across criminal justice, governance and economic categories. Of these, 34 have been completed, 19 have been halted, and 192 remain in progress.
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“The reversal in the electricity sector was quite disappointing. When you think about the reform progress we’ve made in the country, electricity was one of the areas where we have posted a lot of progress," said Busisiwe Mavuso, BLSA CEO.
"The approved unbundling strategy represents a step backwards from the independent transmission system operator model that Operation Vulindlela, Necom and National Treasury have been working towards. It really represents a derail."
The electricity sector’s score has declined over two consecutive periods, dropping from 73,2 points at end-May 2025 to 71,4 at end-December 2025.
Despite the electricity setback, other economic reforms, including freight logistics, spatial inequality, visas, the financial sector and water, recorded significant gains.
Mavuso added: “The overall story is that our reform programme is functioning. Not perfectly, not fast enough in all areas, but it is definitely functioning."