Infrastructure and Regulation for Economic Development: Institutional Reforms in South Africa?s Network Industries

South Africa has endured sluggish economic growth and rising unemployment for more than a decade despite repeated recognition that enabling industries such as electricity telecommunications and airport transportation are vital drivers of development. Yet progress has often stalled with high costs and delays arising from contested decisions and blurred responsibilities between policymakers and regulators. 

This book examines the intricate dynamics within each of these industries while comparing them to reveal how their challenges converge even as their specific emphases differ. Across the sectors, a common theme emerges: institutional weaknesses and fragmented governance have undermined their developmental potential. 

This analysis calls for bold institutional reform. It proposes the adoption of a National Regulatory Policy to entrench good practice, establish coherence, and ground the systemic application of the theory of change. Forward-looking and adaptive regulation, anchored in robust institutions, is essential for and can be enabled by shifting mindsets to embrace reforms.

Robert Nkuna, PhD, is Professor of Practice at North-West University, South Africa. He has also served as Director-General of Communications and Digital Technologies and of Planning, Monitoring and Evaluation, as well as a councillor of ICASA, South Africa’s communications regulator where he was part of its highest decision-making body.