For cargo owners who spent years struggling to secure space on South Africa’s freight rail network, a quiet change in the rules has opened a door that was previously closed. Under the revised Network Statement, they can now secure rail capacity directly, rather than relying solely on licensed train operators. It is one of several shifts recorded in the latest quarter that, taken together, suggest the country’s long-running structural reform effort is gathering pace.
The most telling signal comes from Business Leadership South Africa. Its fifth Reform Tracker Quarterly Review, covering July to September 2026, found that reform momentum rose from -0.4% to 1.7% quarter on quarter, the strongest reading since the September-to-December 2025 period. The completion index climbed to 72.5 from 71.3, the highest since tracking began and 28.4% above the March 2024 baseline.
The tracker measures reform deliverables across economic, governance and criminal-justice categories. Behind the numbers are changes that touch daily life and commerce: how electricity reaches businesses and homes, how goods move through ports and rail lines, how travellers and workers enter the country, and how municipalities deliver basic services.
In electricity, the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme’s eighth bid window advanced, with government expanding it into a larger procurement round. The National Transmission Company South Africa cleared its R2 billion backlog in curtailment payments to independent power producers on 31 August, as promised. That lifted the relevant tracker score from 75 to 81.25. For the producers who had been waiting on those payments, the clearance resolved a financial strain that had weighed on the sector.
Freight logistics also improved, with the score rising from 69.6 to 72.5. Port concessioning advanced from 75 to 80, and the Transnet National Ports Authority’s corporatisation score rose from 62.5 to 70 after Cabinet supported its separation from Transnet on 23 September. BLSA noted, however, that some reforms remained behind schedule, including the establishment of an independent infrastructure manager and aspects of the electricity reform programme. Governance also recorded a decline, a reminder that progress across the tracker is not uniform.
Meanwhile, a parallel account of the quarter comes from Operation Vulindlela, the joint initiative of The Presidency and National Treasury aimed at accelerating structural reforms, improving service delivery and strengthening state capability. Its second-quarter progress report, released on Friday, described electricity-sector reform moving towards a competitive wholesale electricity market, citing work on the Electricity Sector Market Transformation Position Paper, the revised Electricity Pricing Policy and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s Electricity Trading Platform Regulatory Framework. Work continues to unbundle the NTCSA from Eskom and establish an independent Transmission System Operator.
In freight logistics, the report said reforms were supporting operational improvements and a return to profitability at Transnet, and highlighted the launch of a request for qualifications to select a strategic partner for the Ngqura Manganese Export Corridor.
Water reform, which affects households and municipalities directly, is focused on strengthening institutions, improving regulation and accelerating infrastructure investment. The report pointed to progress on the National Water Action Plan and the establishment of the South African National Water Resources Infrastructure Agency, where a board has been appointed, alongside strengthened partnerships between water boards and municipalities.
Immigration is being modernised too. The Electronic Travel Authorisation system was officially launched in August 2026, and the report noted that reforms implemented to date have improved the efficiency of tourist visa processing and lay the foundation for expanding the ETA to additional visa categories, including work and study visas.
At municipal level, the Metro Trading Services Reform Programme has moved into full implementation, with participating metros set to receive incentive allocations from 2027/28 based on their performance in ring-fencing trading services. Cabinet approved a revised White Paper on Local Government, and the President has signed the Public Service Commission Act into law, laying the foundation for comprehensive reform of the local government system. Housing reforms include an inner-city affordable rental pilot planned for the next financial year and digital systems to help address the title-deeds backlog. In digital public infrastructure, MyMzansi has progressed from initial development to a functional prototype in a controlled testing environment, and an end-to-end demonstration of the Umalusi matric service has created a basis for introducing additional digital credentials and government services.
The report cautioned that progress remains uneven in some areas, but said continued implementation is expected to support higher infrastructure investment, improved service delivery and stronger economic growth. As reforms move from design to implementation, the question increasingly becomes whether delivery can keep pace with the promises now written into the tracker.