The third Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA) Tracker report shows that reforms remain on track. The March 2026 quarterly review is 27% better than the March 2024 baseline.
The Tracker monitors 245 reform deliverables across economic, criminal justice and governance categories. It was developed and managed by research consultancy Krutham for Business Leadership South Africa (BLSA). Krutham directors Peter Attard Montalto and Stuart Theobald are the main drivers.
The BLSA Tracker was released in the same week as the Operation Vulindlela Phase II quarterly report by the National Treasury.
Operation Vulindlela Phase II is a joint initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury to accelerate the implementation of priority structural reforms. These support economic growth, improve service delivery, and strengthen state capability. There are seven reform focus areas.
Both reports focus on the same policy space. BLSA gives a private sector perspective. The National Treasury provides a public sector view.
Differing views
The National Treasury said that despite a challenging global economic environment, strong and sustained progress in implementing growth-enhancing structural reforms has lifted economic growth. The reforms currently underway aim to reduce input costs, improve competitiveness, and create opportunities for private investment in key sectors of the economy.
BLSA on the other hand, said that some state-owned enterprises put their own corporate interests above the national wellbeing. This relates to the unbundling process at Transnet and Eskom.
“Specifically, the architecture of both sets of reforms, at this stage of their unbundling processes, leaves them both referee and player at the very time their industries and business units are being opened up to private sector participation. This framework explicitly incentivises Eskom and Transnet to put their interests first,” BLSA chief executive officer Busisiwe Mavuso wrote.
State-owned companies
State-owned companies (SOC) were at the heart of state capture. Billions were siphoned off in to private pockets. Projects were delayed and load shedding impacted the economy.
For over a decade, most state-owned companies (SOC) listed under schedule 2 of the Public Finance Management Act (1999) have not met the legal requirements to maintain sustainable profitability. They did not manage risks effectively. They failed to ensure the prudent use of public resources.
In the most recent financial year, the finances of major state-owned companies improved,
with return on equity shifting from -15.6% in 2023/24 to 3.7% in 2024/25.
Profitability was supported by efforts to improve efficiency, strengthen revenue
generation and optimise balance sheets. However, this relied heavily on government
support, particularly at Eskom and Transnet. This ultimately comes out of the pockets of tax payers.
BLSA view
BLSA said that although many stakeholders are involved in the reforms, the most
important is the general public.
The reforms were specifically designed to address dysfunctional areas in the electricity and logistics sectors. They are meant to improve overall efficiencies and lower the cost of business.
BLSA believe that competitive markets in electricity and logistics will lay the foundation for a stronger economy. The South African economy has stagnated under the Presidencies of Jacob Zuma and Cyril Ramaphosa. The latter has been driving reform but implementation has been patchy and slow.
Both Eskom and Transnet will retain immense impact in the economy. However, BLSA said that if private sector participants are unable to compete on equal terms, then the industry’s entire reform process will collapse.
