IMT Spectrum Auction Completion (ICASA)
ImplementedDigital Infrastructure
Allocate high-demand mobile spectrum through an ICASA auction.
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Reform records with linked evidence. Growth and feasibility ratings are editorial assessments.
171 ideas · sorted by Combined Score
Allocate high-demand mobile spectrum through an ICASA auction.
Create a rail policy framework that separates infrastructure management from train operations and enables third-party access.
Establish a legal framework for competitive electricity trading.
Update the electricity resource plan to guide the generation mix and future procurement.
Strengthen early-grade reading through structured literacy teaching, teacher coaching and learning materials.
Pursue debt stabilisation through expenditure restraint, wage-bill management and control of state-owned enterprise transfers.
Transnet's freight rail volumes fell from a peak of 226.3 million tonnes in 2017/18 to 149.5 million tonnes in 2022/23, driven by infrastructure deterioration, cable theft, and operational dysfunction; they have since recovered to 167.9 million tonnes in 2025/26, still below the 170 million tonnes Transnet had targeted for 2024/25. The reform programme involves awarding third-party access rights on the iron ore and coal export corridors, concessioning terminal operations at major ports to private operators, and establishing an independent economic regulator for ports and rail (EROT). Third-party access regulations for freight rail were finalised in December 2024, and under Operation Vulindlela Phase II rail access agreements have been concluded with all 11 train operating companies allocated capacity on the freight network — a structural shift from 2022, when no private operator had network access. Allocation is not operation: the operators' services are reported as expected to start from April 2027.
Open freight rail routes to third-party operators with rules for access charges, capacity allocation and dispute resolution.
Construction site extortion and business protection rackets have become a major barrier to infrastructure delivery, with the construction mafia disrupting projects worth billions of rands. The committee heard that over 80% of major construction sites in KwaZulu-Natal and Gauteng face extortion demands. Dedicated anti-extortion units, established in some provinces, have had mixed results due to the intersection of organised crime with local political structures. The committee has called for inter-departmental coordination between SAPS, NPA, and DTIC to protect infrastructure investment.
The Employment Tax Incentive (ETI), introduced in 2014, provides wage subsidies to employers hiring workers aged 18-29 earning below R6,500/month. Treasury estimates the ETI supports approximately 700,000 jobs annually at a fiscal cost of ~R6bn. Parliamentary review has examined deadweight losses and proposals to expand eligibility beyond the current age and wage thresholds. With youth unemployment above 60%, the committee has debated whether a more generous or broader ETI could meaningfully shift the employment curve.
South Africa's e-visa system — enabling online visa applications without requiring in-person biometric capture at a DHA mission for initial applications — is intended to substantially reduce the friction that has suppressed tourism and business visitor arrivals. The National Tourism Sector Strategy targets restoring visitor numbers toward the 2019 pre-COVID baseline of 15 million arrivals annually; tourism contributes approximately 2.9% of GDP directly and supports over 700,000 jobs. As of early 2026, the e-visa system has been launched for a limited set of nationalities and visa categories. Expanding e-visa eligibility to the 10 highest-volume source markets would generate an estimated 1-2 million additional annual arrivals.
South Africa's Critical Skills Visa allows holders of qualifications in designated scarce-skills occupations to enter and reside in SA without a prior job offer. The revised Critical Skills List gazetted in 2022 expanded qualifying occupation categories. Operation Vulindlela Phase II committed to reducing the Critical Skills Visa turnaround to 4-8 weeks and implementing a dedicated fast-track lane for priority skills categories. As of early 2026, DHA has implemented processing improvements and piloted a trusted-employer programme allowing pre-certified companies to recruit foreign professionals with expedited approvals. In-demand categories include engineering, ICT, medical specialists, and energy transition skills.
South Africa's Rapid Deployment Policy (RDP) for electronic communications infrastructure, issued under the Electronic Communications Act, is designed to reduce the time and cost of obtaining wayleave rights, municipal construction approvals, and environmental authorisations for towers, fibre ducts, and small cells. Historically, mobile operators and ISPs faced 18-36 month approval timelines, with municipalities levying inconsistent and excessive fees that deterred rural rollout. The Electronic Communications Amendment Act and subsequent ICASA facilities leasing regulations (updated 2024) provide for deemed consent, standardised wayleave fees, and mandatory co-location on towers and access to dark fibre to prevent infrastructure duplication. Operation Vulindlela Phase II identified RDP enforcement at local government level as a priority.
South Africa's transition from analogue to digital terrestrial television (DTT) using the DVB-T2 standard is among the most persistently delayed policy deliverables in post-apartheid infrastructure history — originally planned for 2011, it has been deferred multiple times due to procurement disputes, an encoding policy impasse, and contested set-top box (STB) subsidies. The analogue switch-off (ASO) matters beyond broadcasting: completing it frees the "digital dividend" spectrum in the 694-862 MHz range, low-band frequencies essential for affordable rural mobile broadband and central to 5G coverage economics. SENTECH manages DTT signal distribution; the SABC and e.tv are the primary transitioning broadcasters. An estimated 3.5-5 million qualifying low-income households require state-subsidised STBs. A 2023 settlement resolved the encoding policy dispute. As of early 2026, the ASO has been completed in some regions but not nationally.
Starting and formalising a small business in South Africa requires navigating multiple registration systems — CIPC for company registration, SARS for tax, UIF and COIDA for employment, and multiple municipal licensing bodies. BizPortal, launched by CIPC, offers a single digital entry point but integration with SARS eFiling, municipal systems, and sector-specific licences remains incomplete. The reform agenda involves full interoperability between BizPortal, SARS, the Department of Labour's systems, and provincial licencing databases, enabling a business to complete all regulatory obligations in a single online session. Red tape reduction directly affects SMME formation rates and formalisation of informal businesses. The Presidential Working Group on Small Business has identified compliance fragmentation as a top constraint. As of early 2026, BizPortal handles basic registrations but multi-agency integration milestones are behind schedule.
Operationalise a Small Enterprise Ombud Service to address payment and contract disputes involving small businesses.
Accelerate tuberculosis prevention, diagnosis and treatment through expanded testing and access to care.
Improve port terminal operations through private operating partnerships, performance requirements and infrastructure investment.
Establish the Transport Economic Regulator with staff, tariff methodologies and dispute-resolution functions.
Restore passenger rail services through corridor rehabilitation, signalling repairs and rolling-stock renewal.
The National Transmission Company SA (NTCSA) is being established as a standalone transmission system operator, legally ring-fenced from Eskom, to operate and expand South Africa's 33,000 km high-voltage grid. Capitalisation is the critical constraint: NTCSA requires an estimated R440 billion over ten years to implement the Transmission Development Plan, address the renewable energy connection queue backlog, and maintain ageing infrastructure. Funding options include direct state equity injections, development finance institution loans (DBSA, AfDB), and regulated asset base financing under NERSA-approved tariffs. Independent capitalisation also enables NTCSA to raise debt on its own balance sheet, separate from Eskom's distressed finances. As of early 2026, NTCSA's legal separation from Eskom remains in progress; full capitalisation and independent governance are prerequisites for the competitive electricity market to function.
As part of the 2023 Eskom debt relief package, National Treasury assumed R254 billion of Eskom's approximately R400 billion debt burden over a multi-year period extending to 2028/29, subject to strict conditions including restructuring milestones, cost reduction targets, and renewable energy procurement progress. The restructuring framework requires Eskom to separate its balance sheets for generation, transmission, and distribution. As of early 2026, tranches have been transferred on schedule and the programme runs to 2028/29 per the revised Treasury framework. Eskom's Energy Availability Factor improvement from approximately 58% in 2023 to approximately 69% by 2025 demonstrates progress against restructuring milestones.
Separate Eskom generation, transmission and distribution functions to support electricity-sector restructuring.
Develop technical qualifications and training for electric vehicles, solar power, batteries and green hydrogen.