The government will soon launch the second phase of Operation Vulindlela, a government-wide initiative set up to drive reform, President Cyril Ramaphosa told a joint sitting held on Thursday, 18 July. The President was outlining the priorities of the Government of National Unity (GNU) during his opening of Parliament address at the beginning of the seventh administration.
“In its second phase, Operation Vulindlela will focus on reforming the local government system and improving the delivery of basic services and harnessing digital public infrastructure as a driver of growth and inclusion,” he said.
“It will also focus on accelerating the release of public land for social housing and redirecting our housing policy to enable people to find affordable homes in areas of their choice,” he added.
President Ramaphosa first announced Operation Vulindlela in his 2020 opening of Parliament speech. In that speech, he described the programme as a means “to fast-track the delivery of economic reforms to be implemented as a joint initiative of the Presidency and National Treasury”.
The implementation of structural reforms is crucial to sustain economic recovery and to address the underlying causes of low economic growth and high unemployment. Many of these reforms have been delayed for a number of reasons, but their urgency is increased by the need to support swift economic growth.
The programme is a government-wide approach through which ministers, departments and entities implement structural reforms. A Vulindlela unit in the Presidency and National Treasury monitors progress and actively supports implementation.
Operation Vulindlela supports the implementation of reforms in three ways:
1. Monitoring and reporting on progress to identify challenges, sustain momentum and ensure accountability
2. Facilitating technical support to enable the implementation of reforms.
3. Providing recommendations to the President and Cabinet where a decision or agreement is required.
Vulindlela concentrates mostly on infrastructure departments to leverage economic inclusion interventions.
Mr Ramaphosa said that in line with structural reforms, government will ensure that the funding model for local government is fit for purpose such that most municipalities become financially and operationally sustainable.
“As we pursue these new areas of growth, we will continue with the far-reaching reforms that enable growth. Operation Vulindlela will focus on accelerating the release of public land for social housing and redirecting housing policy to enable people to find affordable homes,” the President said.
Cabinet will soon convene a strategy session to consider the Medium-Term Development Plan, which will provide detailed plans and interventions to be implemented in the next five years. The President also committed to completing the implementation of a new centralised ownership model for state-owned enterprises.
“The establishment of a state-owned SOE holding company will give us greater capacity to build a sovereign wealth fund. In this administration, we will complete the work to restore the financial position and operational performance of the SOEs,” he said.
Sibongile Maputi
22 July 2024
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