Business Leadership South Africa’s (BLSA’s) ongoing tracking of South Africa’s key economic and governance reforms points to a recovery in momentum in the July-to-September quarter.

The BLSA Reform Tracker Quarterly Review, which tracks changes in the reform basket as deliverables are completed, reports that the completion index rose to 72.5 in the period, from 71.3 in the previous quarter.

This represents the index’s highest reading to date and is also 28.4% above its March 2024 launch baseline.

The performance in the previous quarter was held back largely by high-profile disagreement about the future of Eskom’s unbundling. There is currently greater alignment on this issue, with a process under way to secure a transaction adviser to help facilitate the unbundling of the National Transmission Company South Africa, which will own and control the transmission assets.

In the July-to-September period, the BLSA Reform Tracker showed an increase in the electricity reform area from 67.8 to 69.4, which, together with reform progress in the freight logistics and financial sectors, helped lift the tracker’s overall economic index by 2.4% to 73.61.

Freight logistics rose from 69.6 to 72.5, buoyed by the gazetting of the rail Network Statement Version 4, port concessioning progress and Cabinet’s support for the separation of the Transnet National Ports Authority from the Transnet Group.

However, the independent infrastructure manager deliverable fell from 62.5 to 56.25 because the structure remained an interim one, and the National Rail Bill has not yet been tabled.

Financial sector reforms rose from 88.1 to 89.5, with six deliverables advancing, including the draft Crypto Assets Manual, progress on the JIBAR conversion, the South African Reserve Bank taking over the payment role of the Payments Association of South Africa and a new Financial Sector Conduct Authority standard.

The BLSA Reform Tracker also monitors reform deliverables across the criminal justice and governance categories, but the economic category carries the highest overall weighting of 74.6%.

Governance declined for the first time, from 55.0 to 54.6, after the Constitutional Court declared the Public Procurement Act unconstitutional. But the criminal justice category edged up from 84.2 to 84.5, owing to progress on the Criminal Procedure Bill.

“After three consecutive periods of slowing momentum, it is extremely encouraging to see more buoyancy in the July-September 2026 results, with the overall index rising to its highest level yet,” BLSA CEO Busisiwe Mavuso said.

“It’s also encouraging to see progress in water, energy and transport. These are network sectors and it is crucial to eradicate dysfunctionality. Once they are functioning efficiently, they will provide the foundation on which to build a strong and growing economy,” she added.