How world sees SA: Zuma broke it; now Ramaphosa can’t keep its lights on

EDINBURGH — Former president Jacob Zuma and his cronies wreaked huge damage on the South African economy through corruption, self-enrichment and incompetence. Zuma and friends, including the Gupta family, targeted the country's big state-owned enterprises, identifying easy access to funds. South Africa's power utility Eskom is in deep trouble now, and its woes are contaminating all sectors. The New York Times has picked up on the story of South Africa's ongoing rolling blackouts, raising it up as an example of how President Cyril Ramaphosa is failing to fix the mess left by his predecessor. The US-based media outlet tells its influential audience that the situation is so bad that Ramaphosa can't even keep the country's lights on. Yet, Ramaphosa does not think that the electricity crisis will cost votes; he reckons voters will realises the problems are connected to the previous government and will maintain loyalty to the ruling party. – Jackie Cameron

By Thulasizwe Sithole

President Cyril Ramaphosa assumed power promising a "new dawn", but – just over a year later – he can't keep the nation's lights on, says The New York Times.

A month before a national election, the worst rolling blackouts in years are regularly plunging South Africans into the dark, it tells its readers. With annoying frequency, warnings of "load-shedding" pop up on cellphones, referring to the power cuts imposed to prevent a collapse of the national electricity grid, says its Africa correspondent.

"Blackouts are the result of years of mismanagement and corruption in the state-owned utility, Eskom. They are also evidence of how difficult it is for Mr. Ramaphosa to reform the nation's state enterprises and secure stable electricity for South Africa, sub-Saharan Africa's most advanced economy," reports The New York Times.

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