A woman uses a rechargeable LED lantern to illuminate a shoe rack while shopping at the Sinnoville Centre in Tshwane on February 16, 2022. Blackouts in South Africa have intensified. PHOTO | AFP
South Africa is often described as a land of paradox. It is one of the wealthiest in Africa but also hosts some of the world’s poorest people. Recently, the World Bank branded it the world’s most unequal country, with more than 85 percent of the country’s wealth shared among only 10 percent of the population.
There is yet another paradox. South Africa is the second largest electricity producer in the continent, generating 58,095 megawatts, according to its Ministry of Mineral Resources and Energy. Yet, most of the country wallows in endless blackouts and, in the last few weeks, has been hit by the worst outages in a decade. Egypt generates 59,063 megawatts.
