The sombre mood of economic growth won\u2019t improve in South Africa while Eskom\u2019s energy constraints continue, according to economist JP Landman.<\/p>\n
Landman was speaking at the Association for Savings and Investment South Africa (Asisa) conference on Wednesday at the Sandton Convention Centre.<\/p>\n
\u201cElectricity is an emotional issue,\u201d he said. \u201cWe can live with our sport teams losing, but not having power is an issue.\u201d<\/p>\n
He explained that until the electricity issues and load shedding were resolved, South Africans would not share in government\u2019s glossy vision of a prosperous nation.<\/p>\n
The next Eskom crisis<\/strong><\/p>\n In a panel discussion, Alexander Forbes chief executive Edward Kieswetter said the real crisis would occur when distribution fell.<\/p>\n \u201cIt is under maintained and underinvested,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s like not having the trucks to deliver the goods from your factories.\u201d<\/p>\n The former Eskom senior executive said the utility was once admired globally, but that has since been lost.<\/p>\n Not enough is being done<\/strong><\/p>\n In 1998, Kieswetter learnt that China was building an \u201cEskom every year\u201d, or 40 000MW per year.<\/p>\n \u201cAnd now it\u2019s even more,\u201d he said. \u201cI visited these power stations and they just rise out of the ground. What we\u2019re settling for [in terms of new power generation] is just not good enough.\u201d<\/p>\n Load shedding hampering business<\/strong><\/p>\n Liberty Group CEO Thabo Dloti said during the panel discussion that one of the biggest liabilities to the sovereign balance sheet was the cost of doing business in South Africa.<\/p>\n \u201cLoad shedding costs money,\u201d he said. \u201cThere is declining productivity and it is partly due to protracted labour strikes and load shedding.\u201d<\/p>\n An international investor told him recently that these issues are not new, \u201cbut how we address them is the important part\u201d.<\/p>\n Impact on national psyche<\/strong><\/p>\n JSE CEO Nicky Newton-King told delegates that she can see the effect that load shedding is having on the \u201cnational psyche\u201d.<\/p>\n \u201cParastatals need to be reliable,\u201d she said. \u201cThere is a role of business to work with government on other parastatals, as well as with Eskom.\u201d<\/p>\n