Those who chose the wrong path soon find excuses to justify their mistake. South Africa’s dogmatic socialists, determined to apply economic policies which failed everywhere else, have discovered a convenient scapegoat. SA’s weak economic growth, a high level ANC discussion document claims, is primarily the fault of the shortage of electricity. This simplistic approach will scare anyone with even a little appreciation of how a modern economy works. Especially South Africa where demands of the First World bash daily against the Third World, adding layers of complexity. It’s the kind of thinking which leads to idealistic policy that delivers destructive unintended consequences. Inflexible labour legislation has killed exponentially more jobs than electricity constraints. Cadre deployment has wasted many billions more than power station cost overruns. A dumb Visa policy has chased away thousands more tourists than loadshedding. One of the obvious dangers of this new blueprint, to be presented to the ANC’s National General Council, is the way it is designed to let party loyalists draw an obvious but  very wrong conclusion – fix electricity supply and all else will fall into place. So let’s spend $100bn on a Russian-built nuclear fleet. The nation will thank us one day. Eisch. – Alec Hogg Â
By Carin Smith
