A wave of protests against the high cost of living and unemployment is swelling in South Africa, whose economy is weighed down by power cuts. A demonstration, repressed by the police, left four dead on August 1, 2022 in the suburbs of Johannesburg.
The country is familiar with these power cuts but their frequency has intensified in recent months. Recurrent power cuts have become a major source of frustration in Africa’s most industrialized country. Repeated blackouts at power stations cost the country millions of dollars a day in July, forcing South Africans to live six to eight hours a day in the dark for more than two weeks.
The prices of food, transport and accommodation are soaring, due to the consequences of the war in Ukraine but also due to internal shortages. The most developed economy on the African continent, already affected by the Covid, is today plagued by unemployment which affects 34.5% of the population and 64% of the youngest.
Unemployment itself aggravated by the lack of electricity which slows down economic activity. South African companies, large and small, are being forced to slow down production.
After years of mismanagement and corruption, the national company Eskom is unable to produce enough energy to meet the country’s needs. Its coal-fired power stations, which produce 80% of the country’s electricity, are aging and have required repairs for years. The public group is also crippled with debt.
Some companies are switching to diesel generators but rising oil prices are hurting their bottom line and reducing job opportunities. A disastrous spiral of recession and unemployment which risks aggravating the despair of the populations.
Energy experts and even the public group Eskom are calling on the government to invest quickly in renewables, in particular solar, as the best way to fill the energy gap. Faced with the gravity of the situation, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa ended up announcing an opening of the energy sector to private investment, in particular by betting on solar power.
“It will also involve purchasing power from mines, paper mills, trading centers and other private entities with their own generators, as well as neighboring countries such as Botswana and Zambia,” said the South African president. Although late and insufficient, these measures have been welcomed in the country. “This will support small businesses and reduce job losses,” Ismail Fasanya, lecturer in economics at the University of the Witwatersrand, told AFP. As long as you get there”quickly enough to prevent them from putting the key under the door.”