The economic growth target of above 3% remains a dream, but real reforms are taking place. The only way it will be achieved is if government and business work together.

President Cyril Ramaphosa launched the third phase of the "Government-Business Partnership", a collaboration aimed at fixing the many ills that plague the economy, with the unchanged and elusive aim of economic growth of more than 3% supported by targets for Eskom's restructuring, private investment in Eskom and the rollout of the long-awaited mining cadastre by March 2027.

"Our immediate objective is to lift economic growth above 3%. But growth of 3% cannot be the summit of our ambition," Ramaphosa said in his prepared remarks.

When Phase 2 was launched in October 2024, the target was growth of more than 3% by the end of 2025, and that was not nearly reached. Growth last year was 1.1%, and the economy may well be contracting.

But some achievements have been made. Many of the Phase 3 goals certainly look obtainable - not least because they have been announced before, but have been delayed.

To counter organised crime and corruption, South Africa managed under Phase 2 to get its FATF grey listing removed. But municipal dysfunction, the riveting testimonies before the Madlanga Commission, and the brazen attempt to bribe Daily Maverick's Pieter-Louis Myburgh make clear that corruption remains rampant.

Phase 3 aims for...