As South Africa enters the implementation phase of its most ambitious economic reform programme, the National Business Initiative (NBI) confirms that its Technical Assistance and Mentorship Development (TAMDEV) unit will play an important role in the implementation of Operation Vulindlela Phase 2, focusing on strengthening municipal electricity, water and trading services – long recognised as binding constraints on economic growth, investment and service delivery.

Operation Vulindlela, reinforced in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s 2026 State of the Nation Address, has become a central mechanism through which government is moving from policy intent to execution.

In a media release, the NBI notes that the second phase places local government reform at the centre of the country's growth agenda, recognising that failing municipal systems undermine infrastructure investment, private sector participation (PSP) and household livelihoods.

“South Africa’s reform challenge is no longer a lack of policy – it is institutional capability and execution.

“Operation Vulindlela creates the reform mandate to ensure municipalities operate in a conducive environment that lends itself to effective governance, leadership stability and the institutional capability to actually deliver,” says head of TAMDEV at the NBI Ruth Troskie.

TAMDEV, furthermore, provides technical support, governance strengthening and leadership mentorship to municipalities as they modernise and reform municipal trading services in electricity and water, says the NBI.

The organisation describes these reforms as critical to removing the service delivery bottlenecks that continue to constrain economic growth and investment at local level.

TAMDEV's work focuses on reforming municipal trading services, particularly in electricity and water; strengthening governance and promoting professionalisation in municipalities; enhancing institutional leadership and stability; supporting modernisation of municipal systems; and improving service delivery, directly addressing persistent challenges that have constrained economic growth and investment.

In a critical additional role, TAMDEV will host and support the final review process of South Africa’s White Paper on Local Government, framing the input of business into the institutional and policy reforms required to modernise local government.

The NBI says the review will inform the development of a new White Paper, ensuring that service delivery reform is embedded within a coherent, forward-looking national framework.

Operation Vulindlela Phase 2 is also aimed at addressing spatial inequality and supporting reforms that enable PSP in low-income housing; catalytic urban development; and infrastructure delivery linked to household and property market value.

As these reforms move toward implementation from April, the NBI says sustained institutional strengthening will be essential to ensure continuity, credibility and measurable impact.

“Local government is where reform either succeeds or fails. By strengthening institutions at this level, we are not only improving services, but we are unlocking growth, investment and inclusion,” says Troskie.

Beyond the Operation Vulindlela reform agenda, the NBI says its contribution lies in translating structural reforms into real economic outcomes by strengthening the institutional foundations that make reform durable and investable.

The NBI says its involvement reflects a growing recognition that public-private collaboration will be essential to delivering structural reform at scale.