SOUTH Africa risks becoming a “failed nation state” unless the government resolves challenges including an energy crisis, corruption and extreme unemployment, said MTN’s chief executive officer.
Africa’s largest wireless carrier said the rolling blackouts — known locally as load-shedding — lopped R695 million off its earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization last year.
South Africa’s state electricity company has imposed almost 12 hours of power cuts every day this year, prompting companies to spend money on power generators.
President Cyril Ramaphosa last month declared a state of disaster to deal with the energy crisis that’s curbing economic growth in Africa’s most-industrialised nation.
It’s not just blackouts — the government also needs to create jobs to reduce the unemployment rate from 32.7% and improve the state-run rail and ports company’s lack of capacity to ship goods that’s stymieing plans by miners to expand.
“We have time, but the time is
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