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The Inquiry: Why is South Africa collapsing?

Why is South Africa collapsing?

03/08/2023 GMT

BBC World Service - The Inquiry, Why is South Africa collapsing?

How did South Africa’s infrastructure go from world class to decrepit?

When the ANC came to power in 1994 they promised a better life for all South Africans. So why are there now electricity blackouts for up to ten hours a day?

South Africa once had the most abundant and cheap electricity on the continent. Now, it is experiencing power blackouts. It’s called loadshedding, the process by which the power company Eskom occasionally reduces the demand for electricity on the national grid.

For many South Africans this means no electricity for up to ten hours a day, almost every day. The result is disruption to everyday life, impacting on work, education, sanitation, food and heating. 

In 1994 Nelson Mandela’s African National Congress party promised a better life for all South Africans. So why is South Africa’s infrastructure crumbling?

Contributors: 
Duma Qgubule, economist and journalist 
Thomas Mnguni, campaigner with Groundwork 
Anton Eberhard, professor at the Power Futures Lab at the University of Cape Town 
Lungile Mashele, energy economist

Presented by Audrey Brown
Produced by Louise Clarke 
Researched by Anoushka Mutanda-Dougherty 
Edited by Tara McDermott and Tom Bigwood 
Technical producer Kelly Young 
Production co-ordinator Brenda Brown

(Dressmaker Faieza Caswell sews under candlelight at her workplace in Cape Flats, South Africa. Credit: Esa Alexander/Reuters)

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Why is South Africa collapsing?

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