ASHA SPECKMAN: Blackout woes steadily drain bright promise out of Ramaphoria
How much mileage, if any, is still left in Ramaphoria, given another agonising week of candle-lit dinners and cold showers as irregular power supply challenges mount? Some restaurant owners and retailers have started closing their doors early each day — for safety reasons as much as because they are battling to maintain quality service standards in the dark. The inconvenience is untenable. A relative recounted this week how, in frustration, he is turning to Botswana to source a diesel generator to power his home as he was told that SA has run out of generators and won't have more before the end of April. There is already a backlog of orders. Last year, Ramaphoria — the euphoria that ensued after Cyril Ramaphosa was elected president in February — received a reality check when the rand plunged on a combination of political risk, poor economic news and waning commodity prices. This year, the failure to put Eskom on a stable path financially and operationally is possibly the biggest th...
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