BURNING PLATFORM

The torching of more than 20 trucks in KwaZulu-Natal, Limpopo and Mpumalanga brought back nasty memories of the July 2021 riots, which shook South Africa to its core. The motives are not... 

ANTI-SOCIAL MEDIA

Much of the hostility between Twitter’s Elon Musk and Meta’s Mark Zuckerberg ahead of the launch of Meta’s Threads tended to combine toxic masculinity with ego-fuelled bravado, epitomised by the... 

DESTRUCTIVE FORCE

Whether it was a tornado or a landspout the strong winds associated with the recent weather phenomenon that hit Inanda and Phoenix, in KwaZulu-Natal, left a deadly trial of destruction in its wake.... 

BREAKING POINT

In the years preceding the start of the loadshedding crisis in 2007, electricity commentators would regularly warn that the distribution sector was emerging as South Africa’s weakest link. That... 

BAND-AIDS & BAILOUTS

Although there is a degree of acceptance that South Africa needs to restructure its highly unequal health system, there is nevertheless genuine concern over the proposed National Health Insurance... 

DANGEROUS DECLINE

While it is positive that the Blue Drop, Green Drop and No Drop reports are again being published after a gap of several years, the reports themselves point to a worrying decline in the status of... 

GRID-LOCKED

A lack of investment into South Africa’s grid over the past number of decades is at last being recognised as a major constraint to the integration of much-needed new generation, such as the wind... 

DARK HUMOUR

South Africans are known to use humour as a coping mechanism against many of the difficulties they face, from nonsensical political statements to corruption and incompetence. Citizens have become... 

DARK CLOUD

South Africans can see and feel the devastating effects of daily power cuts on their lives and livelihoods. The country’s literacy crisis, by contrast, is far less visible but its impacts are... 

CHOPPY WATERS

At the time of writing, there was still no clarity as to whether South African defence equipment or ammunition had been loaded onto the Russian cargo vessel the Lady R, when it docked at the... 

DANGER SIGNS

South Africa’s non-aligned foreign policy stance was relatively straightforward to maintain when the world was globalising and democratising. Conditions have turned decidedly hostile in recent... 

MIXED MESSAGES

The appointment of a dedicated Minister of Electricity was meant to ensure there was an individual to focus full-time on ending loadshedding and ensuring that the widely consulted Energy Action... 

WINTER WARNING

While there has been a Game of Thrones-like tussle over the precise role that South Africa’s Electricity Minister will play, Dr Kgosientsho Ramokgopa has become pretty consistent on one issue: the... 

BRIGHT SIDE OF LIFE

Even for those who have been living through the decline and have, thus, become somewhat oblivious, the dismal state of South Africa’s infrastructure is now almost impossible to ignore. Be it... 

FLIP FLOPS

The termination of the electricity state of disaster and the withdrawal of a poorly worded Gazette notice exempting Eskom from having to include details of irregular, fruitless and wasteful... 

TROLLEY HAS BOLTED

The decision by the Competition Commission to probe price hikes across a basket of five fruits and six vegetables is understandable given the level of food inflation over the past year. However, it... 

HARD TIMES

South Africa has entered a period that could be categorised as stagflation, whereby extremely weak economic growth is combining toxically with rising inflation and extreme unemployment. The... 

WAVES OF PAIN

It has been an incredibly difficult start to the year, with intense loadshedding and a spike in crime having left individual and investor confidence decidedly soggy. While there have been... 

BOILING POINT

The right to protest is an essential part of any democracy. Sadly, protest action in South Africa is increasingly synonymous with acts of violence, intimidation and the destruction of property.... 

MEGA PROJECT

Newly-appointed Minister of Electricity, Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, seems to have embraced the ‘project manager’ title that many commentators felt Mineral Resources and Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe... 

SHOCKWAVES

The shockwaves from André de Ruyter’s damning interview with eNCA continue to reverberate. While calls from the implicated African National Congress for De Ruyter to name names were predictable,... 

JUGGLING ACT

JUGGLING ACT: Even without the early departure of André de Ruyter, the Eskom board would have always struggled to find a permanent replacement before the end of March. What became clear from De... 

BLUNT INSTRUMENT

It is far from clear what good will come from the decision to declare South Africa’s long-running electricity crisis a State of Disaster. That’s not to say loadshedding isn’t a disaster, it most... 

SHOOTING SELF IN FOOT

The recent mining gathering in Cape Town once again highlighted the failure of government and its State-owned companies to provide the policy, administrative and infrastructure frameworks and... 

STATE OF NATIONAL ANXIETY

Moves towards declaring South Africa’s 15-year-old power crisis as a State of National Disaster has raised more anxiety than the recent tiger escapes in Gauteng. These fears are well-founded given... 

PULLING THE RUG

The call by President Cyril Ramaphosa for the Eskom board to consider ways of postponing the 18.65% tariff increase approved recently by the regulator, has received support from cash-strapped and... 

SINKING FEELING

Given internal ANC political dynamics, it looks like it will be difficult to reverse the decision to move the large State-owned enterprises from the Department of Public Enterprises to their line... 

COMES WITH BAGGAGE

Any thoughts of South Africa making an entirely fresh start in 2023 after what was a difficult 2022, were quickly snuffed out. Not only has there been ongoing loadshedding, but many of the other... 

NOWHERE TO HIDE

No matter how hard the African National Congress tries to hide its toxic factional politics it’s plain for all to see and it doesn’t seem to be getting any better. It’s reaching a point where... 

DEFLATING

This year’s FIFA World Cup has had its fair share of upsets, which has deflated the egos of some of the bigger teams. The performance of the South African economy in 2022 has been equally... 

LEADERSHIP PUZZLE

With the African National Congress gearing up for its 55th National Elective Conference many citizens are doubtful whether its new leaders will be able to finally place country before party.... 

UNDER PRESSURE

The South African Institution of Civil Engineering launched its 2022 Infrastructure Report Card earlier this month, which uses a five-point scale from A (world-class) to E (unfit-for-purpose) to... 

HEAVY LIFTING

After significant research, lobbying and consultative efforts, the first concessional finance has started to flow towards Eskom’s plan to repower and repurposed those coal power station sites that... 

JOURNEY ENDS & BEGINS

The scrapping of e-tolls became inevitable when there was massive civil disobedience, led by the well-organised civil society grouping initially know as Opposition to Urban Tolling Alliance, or... 

WATER WORRIES

With electricity loadshedding now a part of daily life in South Africa, there is growing anxiety about the prospect of water-shedding. Already several towns across the country are struggling either... 

PUNCH DRUNK

South African business has had a torrid 2022, with intense loadshedding, a freight-logistics strike and serious flooding all harming production and exports. Sadly, these electricity, transport and... 

DARK SPACE

Even the most determined proponent of State-owned companies and their supposed developmental role will have a hard time proving their case when it comes to Eskom and Transnet. The loadshedding... 

OLD HAT

There is limited room for any surprises as South Africa’s Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana, who is known for his many homburg hats, puts the final touches to his Medium-Term Budget Policy... 

NO JOY RIDE

As South Africans we are disconcertingly accustomed to major changes to the value of the rand. However, the US dollar’s rampant performance in September left many other currencies quite shaken,... 

TIPPING POINT:

As South Africans are forced to endure the worst-ever year for power cuts, questions continue to be asked about how we arrived at this confidence-sapping point. Even absent incompetence and...