The main opposition party in South Africa, the Democratic Alliance (DA), said on Tuesday it would launch an economic structural reform tracker aimed at measuring progress on the government’s promises.

In a statement, the DA said the tracker, to be unveiled by member of parliament and shadow minister of finance Geordin Hill-Lewis, would measure progress on economic structural reform in five thematic areas, namely public finance, the energy sector, State-owned enterprises, corruption and the labour market.

“National government’s track record on implementing its structural reforms programme has been poor as many of its commitments to date have not been met with a corresponding plan of action,” the party said.

“The devastation the Covid-19 hard lock down brought to our economy, should push government to not only make bold structural reform promises but to also implement these reforms in order to save the economy from complete collapse.”

A report by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) in July said South Africa had responded swiftly to the Covid-19 pandemic, but the sharp drop in activity due to a lock down aimed at containing it, added to long-standing challenges and raised the urgency of structural reforms.

The OECD said bold fiscal measures were needed to curb spending pressures and restore fiscal sustainability, including taking steps to reduce the government wage bill and financial support for ailing state-owned enterprises.

Structural policy reforms to boost competition, restructure state-owned enterprises, improve the regulatory framework and improve public investment in transport infrastructure, skills and education were also called for, it added.

On Tuesday, the DA said its economic reform tracker would ensure that various government functionaries were held accountable for their commitments.

The party made its announcement two days before President Cyril Ramaphosa was due to unveil an economic recovery plan compiled by an advisory council he appointed last year to “ensure greater coherence and consistency in the implementation of economic policy”.