South Africa’s decision to stall plans championed by President Jacob Zuma to build nuclear plants has exposed his waning authority. News of the delay came Tuesday when the Department of Energy said additional atomic power won’t come on stream until 2037 under its “base case” scenario, 14 years later than previously projected. While Zuma says reactors are key to addressing power constraints in Africa’s most-industrialized economy, Finance Minister Pravin Gordhan, economists and ratings companies warn that South Africa can’t afford them now. “Essentially the project has been indefinitely postponed and the final decision on nuclear power will only be taken by Zuma’s successor,” said Robert Schrire, a politics professor at the University of Cape Town. “This is a great victory for economic rationality and political expediency and reflects the new political balance of a weakened Zuma administration.” Zuma is scheduled to step down as leader of the governing African National Congress next ...
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