'Might as well pull the plug on investments if SA electricity supply not fixed'

'Might as well pull the plug on investments if SA electricity supply not fixed'

8 November 2019 12:31 PM

The Daily Maverick's Sikonathi Mantshantsha says billions in investment pledges are pointless if South Africa's electricity crisis is not resolved.

Over R360 billion in investment commitments were made at the investment summit this week.

At the same time, Eskom has been struggling with a grid that has been severely constrained because of unplanned breakdowns and poor maintenance.

RELATED: Load shedding a possibility after 8pm on Friday, warns Eskom COO

Mantshantsha has wondered how much of those billions in pledges will go to electricity projects.

Not much, he surmises.

You can pledge a trillion rand tomorrow and people want to invest it, [but] if you don't have the electricity you might as well let them stay home.
— Sikonathi Mantshantsha, Associate editor at Scorpio - The Daily Maverick Investigative Unit

Not much of it has been earmarked for projects in electricity. That's our biggest gap at the moment.
— Sikonathi Mantshantsha, Associate editor at Scorpio - The Daily Maverick Investigative Unit

How much of that money is going to produce electricity? We've got a shortage right now.
— Sikonathi Mantshantsha, Associate editor at Scorpio - The Daily Maverick Investigative Unit

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This article first appeared on CapeTalk : 'Might as well pull the plug on investments if SA electricity supply not fixed'

Written by: Qama Qukula

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