Financial experts say that the worst of South Africa’s power crisis is over now, with the private sector having come to the rescue to ease pressure off the national grid – despite the government dragging its feet for years before actually allowing it to happen.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
According to Schroders fund manager Robert Davy and senior strategist and researcher Andrew Rymer, while South Africa’s economic outlook remains bleak – and many problems persist in the energy sector – 2023 looks to be the worst the country will see in terms of national blackouts and load shedding.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The experts noted that the lack of power South Africa is still experiencing remains a major impediment to growth, but at the very least, positive policy moves – albeit forced – have allowed the electricity market to open up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
They said most investors are looking for proper reforms in South Africa, which have been notoriously slow to become a reality. Similar to the power crisis, the country is in the throes of a logistics crisis, which is hampering the export of coal and iron, among other commodities.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
The common theme with the power and logistics crises is that of troubled state-owned companies that have been hobbled by historical mismanagement and corruption, where operations have consistently declined over the last decade.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
However, the experts noted that one critical reform that has been implemented is the lifting of private power generation caps.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n