Statistics South Africa has revealed that the country’s gross domestic product decreased by 0,7% in the second quarter of 2022.
The Agency has alluded that the KwaZulu-Natal floods and loadshedding have contributed to the decline, weakening an already fragile national economy that had just recovered to pre-pandemic levels.
Some experts have pointed out that South Africa has been experiencing the worst loadshedding since rolling blackouts started 16 years ago.
Talking at the Africa Mining Indaba 2023, Mineral Resource s And Energy Minister Gwede Mantashe has shared that the country has lost an estimated R1 billion a day last year due to loadshedding.
In an interview, CEO of the South African Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Alan Mukoki said:
The impacts of loadshedding have been negative on a number of businesses, including mining.
One of the key sectors that keep South Africa's economic engine running, the motor industry, is faced with power cuts that are slowing down the industry.
Should businesses that are in sectors that drive the economy be negatively impacted on, then the entire value chain of economic activity will also be affected.
According to Mukoki, the manufacturing sector uses big machinery that needs electricity to be powered over a number of hours or days before they can reach a level of optimum effectiveness.
This has led to some businesses closing shop and owners looking for other alternatives to make profits.
Recently, Eskom implemented stage four of loadshedding and businesses are forced to fork out millions to mitigate against the rolling blackouts.
Mantashe has urged investors at the 2023 Mining Indaba to invest in South Africa because the government has a plan to resolve loadshedding.
However, Mukoki is of the opinion that this is an issue that has gone beyond that the government and solutions can be found in talented and skilled individuals in the country.
