Turning 2025 Momentum into a 2026 Reform Imperative for Real Economic Growth

South Africa enters 2026 at a critical inflection point. After years of constrained growth and systemic underperformance in core infrastructure, 2025 marked a year of tangible progress – particularly in logistics, rail and ports. The task that lies ahead is clear: momentum must now accelerate into measurable reform, executed with discipline to deliver real and sustainable economic growth.

While external factors such as politically crafted trade tariffs and other significant catalysts for global turmoil spread division, discord and disruption across the world, South Africa is writing a new chapter as reform begins to unlock structured private sector participation (PSP) in rail and ports. PSP entrenches the principle of shared responsibility across the public and private sectors, as infrastructure recovery impacts the entire supply chain, heightening economic performance. South Africa’s role as a leading trade hub and gateway to Africa recognises that ultimately, even the success of the African Continental Free Trade Area (AfCFTA) will depend on logistics infrastructure.

In its Africa’s Development Dynamics 2025 report, the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) is unequivocal in its assessment: infrastructure is the engine of economic transformation. The report projects that with the right policies and level of investment in infrastructure, the continent could boost growth by 4.5 percentage points per year to double its gross domestic product (GDP) by 2040. It notes that this would depend on investment being targeted, governance-driven and supported by strong public-private collaboration. This outlook is relevant and directly applicable to South Africa (and, indeed, to the Southern African region).

Non-negotiables for growth

The OECD report lists conditions for success, including prioritising high-return infrastructure projects, fostering credible public-private partnerships, strengthening data collection and data-driven decision-making and proactively managing social and ecological risks through transparency and accountability.

In representation of the forwarding sector and logistics at large, the Southern African Association of Freight Forwarders (SAAFF) is aligned to this outlook. These principles resonate strongly in a constitutional democracy where institutional credibility, evidence-based policy and public trust are non-negotiable foundations for growth – the direction in which South Africa must travel.

Against this benchmark, SAAFF reaffirms that South Africa’s logistics sector can point to real progress in 2025. A maturing, evidence-based dialogue between government and industry serves as the biggest factor shaping South Africa’s steady economic turnaround.

As an industry, our progress is evidenced in the SAAFF | BUSA Cargo Movement Report, an empirical, science-based logistics analysis that measures performance on-the-fly. The report provides members high-integrity data that informs medium- and long-term strategic direction and underpins sound short-term decision making. This translates into effective risk management and a competitive advantage.

“This progress matters because logistics is not a technical footnote in economic policy,” says SAAFF CEO Dr Juanita Maree. “It is the bloodstream of trade, industrialisation and inclusive growth for the nation. Without efficient freight movement, no foreign direct investment recruitment programme, industrial strategy, export ambition or regional integration agenda can succeed.”

Milestones in 2025

Today, as we move on from 2025 – a watershed year for logistics – it is of critical importance that we recognise major milestones achieved through focused work done, including:

Department of Transport (DoT)

• The final year of the National Logistics Crisis Committee (NLCC).
• The transformation of Transnet and introduction of the Transnet Rail Infrastructure Manager (TRIM).
• The introduction of PSP programmes.
• The opening of the Request for Information (RFI) processes.
• The National Freight Logistics Roadmap, covering the Road-to-Rail Strategy.
• The deferment for review of the Merchant Shipping Bill.

The Department of Trade, Industry and Competition (DTiC)

• A successful focus on exports, yielding increased AfCFTA trade.
• Exports of over R1.3 billion in the financial year through the Export Marketing and Investment (EMIA)s

Operation Vulindlela

• Regulatory Framework: The introduction of the Economic Regulator of Transport Act.
• Private Sector Participation: The first-ever PSP for container terminals and the establishment of the PSP Unit.
• Rail Access: A Draft Network Statement developed for the freight rail network.

Among other targeted interventions, these developments were driven principally by unprecedented cross-sectoral consultation and represent the most credible foundation for reform seen in our country in over a decade. For the logistics and freight forwarding industry, 2025 reasserted the sector’s central role in enabling economic resilience and global competitiveness. However, the private sector is unequivocal: 2025 was the beginning, not the destination.

Decisive shift to implementation needed

In 2026, South Africa must shift decisively from policy intent to an implementation discipline. To enable real economic growth, momentum needs to translate into productive operational transformation within an intentional and well-governed environment, underpinned by transparency, accountability and clear communication – actions that build trust across sectors and in the system.

Sustainability in logistics is multi-layered. It depends on some critical factors such as political resolve and strong leadership, applied knowledge and skills development. Entering the PSP business model demands that progress be underpinned by accountability and transparency; governance at this inflection point is as fundamental as capital investment.

Priority reform areas that require urgent and coordinated execution include the introduction of the Independent Economic Regulator, digitisation and integration across other government agencies (OGA), embedding inter- and intra-port competition, introduction of the Container User Forum (CUF), the acceleration of rail reform to progress road-to-rail, growing intermodal integration and capacity development, freight villages and the alignment of African trade across the SADC and AfCFTA.

Benchmark for future success

Maree notes that the OECD benchmark quoted at the start of this article deserves to be positioned as a point of reference, as South Africa strives to become Africa’s most prosperous, mature economy and a thriving democracy, defined by its flagship trusted institutions, competitive infrastructure and delivery-led reform.

“The task before us in 2026 is not simply that of technical alignment, but a conscious commitment to embed the most stringent world standards into practice,” she elaborates. “To position South Africa firmly among world economies that translate policy intent into sustained growth and national prosperity is, in global terms, the catalyst of a stronger competitive position. South Africa aspires to be the country in Africa where international investors place their capital and their confidence. To cement this position, South Africa needs infrastructure-led growth. In 2026 the national key performance indicator is to convert alignment into delivery.”

Maree says excellence is the SAAFF brand’s ultimate deliverable – a central strategic pillar and a defining leadership value recognised by local and global partners and stakeholders. “Looking ahead, the effective functioning of reform platforms such as the CUF – a credible mechanism for structured stakeholder engagement, where accountability is critical – now becomes a top priority, alongside the accelerated implementation of rail reform to restore corridor capacity and reliability and, in doing so, secure the future of trade.”

She adds that ultimately, all interventions must be reinforced by the deliberate growth and alignment of intermodal integration for efficiency. “In parallel, seamless connectivity through digitisation and system integration of OGAs such as the Border Management Authority (BMA) is key to the outcomes, to secure increased capacity and seamless connectivity between ports, borders, rail and road,” she elaborates.

2026 represents the decisive moment where policy alignment converts into tangible delivery through sustained economic impact. “If this is achieved, logistics reform will not only support realisable economic recovery but will act as a catalyst for inclusive growth, regional integration and an enduring long-term competitive position,” Maree explains. “Failure to do so would risk squandering the most promising reform window the sector has seen in years.”

SA Champions of Change Honours launched

SAAFF is proud to announce the launch of the South Africa Champions of Change Honours awards, an annual national recognition programme designed to formally acknowledge and elevate individuals and organisations delivering demonstrable, transformative impact across South Africa’s logistics and trade ecosystem.

Inspired by the collaborative, innovative leadership that drove the 2025 logistics recovery programme, the SA Champions of Change Honours go beyond the ceremonial event. The programme is deliberately structured as a strategic reform instrument, reinforcing innovative behaviour, exceptional leadership and outstanding commitment to multilateral collaboration that directly advances efficiency, resilience, integrity and competitiveness in South Africa’s supply chains.

The South Africa Champions of Change Honours aim to make excellence visible and replicable, incentivise delivery-focused leadership and innovation, recognise collaborative reform across public and private sectors and reinforce a culture of accountability, compliance and operational excellence.

To ensure a credible and fully transparent recognition process, the programme will employ a four-stage adjudication approach, ensuring recognition is both community validated and expertly endorsed:

• Empirical data- and research-based shortlisting ensures nominations are grounded on measurable impact and evidence of transformative impact.
• A public vote allows industry stakeholders, clients and the wider community to participate.
• An independent panel of industry and supply chain leaders, chaired by an impartial adjudicator, will adjudicate candidates using a structured scoring system based on clearly defined criteria, including innovation, operational impact, sustainability and contribution to sector advancement.
• The inaugural awards event, scheduled for the first quarter of 2026, will be a defining momentfor a programme designed to recognise, amplify and celebrate leadership that is actively re-shaping the sector.

Backed by a distinguished coalition of leading corporate and institutional strategic partners, the programme offers strong sponsor alignment, national visibility and a shared commitment to reform, innovation and delivery. Honourable commendations will serve as a powerful platform to celebrate impact, inspire collaboration and accelerate meaningful change across the value chain and into Africa.