South Africa Enters Phase Three: Government, Business Scale Up Joint Growth Push
Collaborative framework targets electricity, logistics and job creation across three operational pillars
GOVERNMENT AND BUSINESS DEEPEN PARTNERSHIP TO DRIVE GROWTH AND JOB CREATION IN PHASE THREE ROLLOUT
South Africa’s government and private sector have launched the third phase of their collaborative economic programme, shifting from crisis stabilisation toward sustained expansion of key industries and job creation across the country.
The partnership began in 2023, when the country faced acute challenges in electricity supply, freight logistics and security. The first two phases concentrated on stabilisation and structural reform. Phase three now targets sectors with substantial employment potential, aiming to lift GDP growth above 3% annually and contribute to the creation of one million new jobs by 2030.
The infrastructure and operational results from the earlier phases are measurable. Eskom’s generation performance improved significantly, enabling more than 400 days without load shedding through a combination of state utility recovery and rapid expansion of private generation capacity. Progress toward a competitive electricity market has advanced alongside those operational gains. At the nation’s ports, performance strengthened through strategic partnerships, while freight rail corridors opened to private operators, easing earlier constraints in the logistics network.
These outcomes carried broader financial consequences. South Africa’s removal from the Financial Action Task Force grey list followed the partnership’s work, prompting credit rating agencies to upgrade their outlooks and ratings for the country. The government framed these results as evidence that collaborative mechanisms between state and business produce practical, delivery-focused outcomes rather than serving as forums for presentations and discussion.
Phase three now operates across three distinct pillars. The first sustains core economic enablers: completing Eskom’s unbundling, building new transmission lines, fully operationalising the wholesale electricity market and expanding private train operations on the rail network. Short sentences matter here. Each of those commitments is a discrete delivery target with a clear owner.
The second pillar unlocks growth in industries identified as having substantial employment capacity, specifically mining, agriculture and agro-processing, tourism and infrastructure. This includes rolling out a new mining cadastre system to boost mineral exploration, streamlining visa systems to attract international tourists, expanding agricultural export markets and scaling up public-private infrastructure investment.
The third pillar focuses on confidence-building. The government will tackle crime and corruption, extend partnership models to improve municipal service delivery and back specialised forensic capacities to accelerate prosecutions against organised syndicates.
A dedicated focus within the third phase targets youth employment. The partnership will scale up efforts to increase youth placement in entry-level jobs, supported by increased employment incentives and work-seeker support. Effective public employment programmes will be sustained and expanded while business partners work to improve the transition of young people into sustained earning opportunities.
The urgency behind the third phase reflects labour market realities. South Africa has approximately 8.5 million unemployed citizens by the official rate, with roughly 300,000 net new work-seekers entering the labour force each year. Current growth rates remain insufficient to absorb that volume, making accelerated expansion a practical necessity rather than an aspiration.
The government positioned the partnership model as reflecting a broader democratic tradition of social dialogue and cooperation. The approach allocates distinct roles: government provides electoral mandate, regulatory authority and policy direction, while business contributes investment, technical skills and resources. The stated objective is to align these capabilities around clear, measurable targets and convert macroeconomic stability into tangible improvements in citizens’ lives.
Whether the third phase can sustain the delivery momentum of its predecessors, particularly across the more complex terrain of job creation and municipal reform, is the question the partnership’s next set of results will have to answer.
Q&A
What operational improvements resulted from the first two partnership phases?
Eskom achieved more than 400 days without load shedding through state utility recovery and private generation capacity expansion. Port performance strengthened through strategic partnerships, and freight rail corridors opened to private operators, easing logistics network constraints.
What are the three pillars of phase three?
The first pillar sustains core economic enablers including Eskom's unbundling, transmission line construction, wholesale electricity market operationalisation and private train operations expansion. The second pillar unlocks growth in mining, agriculture, agro-processing, tourism and infrastructure through cadastre systems, visa streamlining and export market expansion. The third pillar focuses on confidence-building through crime and corruption reduction, municipal service delivery improvement and forensic capacity acceleration.
What employment targets does the partnership aim to achieve?
The partnership targets lifting GDP growth above 3% annually and creating one million new jobs by 2030. Youth employment initiatives include increased entry-level job placement, expanded employment incentives and work-seeker support to address approximately 300,000 net new work-seekers entering the labour force each year.
How did the partnership model affect South Africa's international financial standing?
South Africa's removal from the Financial Action Task Force grey list followed the partnership's work, prompting credit rating agencies to upgrade their outlooks and ratings for the country.