Why the lights are going out in South Africa - BBC News

[@josefk332]

This is what happens when corruption and incompetence goes unpunished at the voting polls.

[@JitzyJT]

Bring back Aparthied South Africa and see how the white folks run things

[@ilyasergeevich7621]

please pray for rain in Novocherkassk

[@LaFonteCheVi]

This is what happens when you support socialists and communists.

[@larrykrug1]

​@@ilyasergeevich7621 ❤

[@anthony64632]

It is estimated that ANC will fall below 40% of election win because of Eskom ongoing loadshedding.

[@mancavefire]

Great to see this getting more global coverage, the country is crippled by corruption

[@pragasanarchary2980]

Not just corruption, rampant crime, unemployment, demanding workforce & a freebie mentality is slowly sinking the country.

[@MikeStJacques]

You mean crippled by BLACK people

[@pauliedweasel]

Why would that be… Hmmm!

[@NicholasWilliams-x5c]

In America, we harvest the personal data & intellectual property of everybody to dominate the markets ☺ haha

[@fan-tastic2803]

Who’s going to come give a hand ?? The international space cadets?? Or Ghost Busters?

[@ThatCasper]

AC=alternating current DC=direct current ANC=absoluty no current Monsters, all of them.

[@jacqueshorn]

Perhaps the ANC should change their name to WMD. It seems far for appropriate.

[@mensrea1251]

Actually ANC = we accept all currency

[@Edward8855]

@@mensrea1251 ANC stands for Absolutely No Current.

[@sharkfinn6469]

African National Cants All the Cants, can't do anything good

[@jennychurchill2716]

They are

[@stru9j]

I am a 23 year old South African citizen. These blackouts have been happening since I was 7. Things have been getting progressively worse over the course of my life but lately it feels like the country has reached a breaking point. Literally everything is falling apart, the blackouts are just one aspect of this. I can't tell you how soul-crushing and hopeless the situation is. I am one of the privileged few in the middle class, I cannot fathom what the poorest of the poor are dealing with. All I know is that I will cast my vote in next year's national election and then I will do everything I can to get out of here because I cannot spend the rest of my life in this hellscape. It will break my heart to have to leave my parents behind but I really have no choice if I want any sort of safe, secure future.

[@Zantsak]

Just remember that the poorest of the poor voted for the ANC.

[@vincent_hall]

Best of the best of success to you, Janine. 🍀🍀🍀🍀 My family got out 24 years ago. My immediate family at least. Some relatives got out earlier, some later, Most are still there.

[@jacoleroux4302]

Vote for the Organic Humanity Movement. We need complete system change before we can fix eskom.

[@tselebotumile1199]

Liar... power cuts started just before covid 19

[@graybeard9942]

@@vincent_hall Did the door hit you where the good Lord split you?.

[@backstabbath1986]

This is literally happening to every state owned entity. Hospitals, education, post office and airline is on the brink of collapse. It breaks my heart as a South African

[@colinwinogradoff6794]

STOP supporting Russia, otherwise you're just a shithole country

[@DickCheneyXX]

You wanted democracy, you got it.

[@bmer92k86]

Never had this problem when another group of people ran things. We told you you weren't ready. We're still laughing

[@pliashmuldba]

Well its not due to power outages, but the rest you say, thats also happening here in,,,,,, Denmark. Mind you it is in slow motion, but there are just 1 route for us, and it is dictated by gravity and stupidity.

[@DownUnderDigitals]

How's the corrupt South Africa doing these days?

[@maddyL1234]

I live in South Africa and you can not imagine how horrible it is to live without electricity. Try to drive home on a dark winters night with no lights on the roads. The roads are almost impossible to drive on due to horrendous pot holes everywhere. The ANC have utterly completely let down the people of South Africa. People can't cook or heat their homes and are freezing now that it's winter.

[@madharaboy]

😂 Living in Zimbabwe is like playing in hard mode! I haven't bought more power in over a year coz I literally don't have enough time in the day to use what I already have😂 It makes sense why people still brave the limpopo coz no matter how bad it is over there right now (catching bullets aside), it's still better than over here😅 At least there's still a little hope for things to get better for SA. Your elections still mean something and your uniformed forces mostly keep to their lanes (at least in public). If even that domino falls, it'll be time to get those visa applications going.

[@JohnThomas-li2vi]

So why haven't the whole country taken to the streets like they would do in France, England, America or any other normal thinking people.

[@tony.h321]

@@JohnThomas-li2vi Good question. The whole country should be. I think its because everyone not supporting ANC is basically scared to. (And not without reason. There is a lot at stake.)

[@micahmoolman2202]

​@@JohnThomas-li2vi Because this will solve absolutely nothing. The money is getting stolen. We can't strike it back. Our best chance is to vote for a better political party that will root out this corruption once and for all.

[@MeleenGames]

​@@madharaboy I don't think so personally want to leave out of Africa but It's not easy. The people here are really apathetic and to easily paid off you can buy votes for around R300

[@Badda_Bing]

The corruption and incompetence of the ANC has been obvious for almost 3 decades. No jobs, poverty worse than ever, infrastructure falling apart and no electricity. But guess what... Nothing will ever be done to punish them AND 60% of the country's population will still blindly vote for them in the 2024 election. I've been hoping for improvement for over 20 years, but things have just gotten significantly worse. Very sad

[@W_Bin]

Why on earth do people vote for the ANC then? Or are elections rigged? Is it the poor and unemployed voting for the government which has made them stay poor and unemployed? It sounds a LOT like Russia.

[@aungmyintoo4635]

Because the DA is too white, and other alternative EFF is more incompentent and racist scumbag.

[@glynisbrits2438]

Yip, that 60% votes for them because just before elections, food parcels and t-shirts are delivered to them and again, they believe that the ANC is the only government to vote in.

[@lurker993]

Sounds like America

[@philstanton231]

South Africa is what a failed state looks like

[@KeytoCapeTown]

The worst part is that government won’t allow private companies to provide power

[@Ironic_Shark]

ya i saw some article were Eskom is suing farmers for making their own power, the government needs actually fix shit and stop blaming everything on something that happened 30 years ago. Wonder how long until they start pulling us into court for these "racist" comments xD

[@mazambane286]

Oh yes they will. Be guaranteed mr patrice motsepe and Co will the only ones allowed to participate. Watch the anc sell those power stations off to their mates for a nominal one Rand each.

[@africanhistory]

So what is the plan then?

[@mazambane286]

@@africanhistory get rid of them. ASAP

[@teknoaija1762]

What more evidence is needed to admit that black leaders lack intelligence?

[@gobshite99]

The ANC is the most incompetant government you could imagine.

[@thetradingpostcapetown]

not incompetant - their roots are terrorism and they haven't stopped that - just doing what they've always done on another level.

[@jhelm1712]

biggest mistake the people of this country did was give a functioning state to the anc !!!

[@MJ31579]

​​@@jhelm1712 I'm wondering if it is selective stupidity or a complete inability to think of the experience from any other perspective than your own. Or maybe you've been living in a bubble, of the suburbs that you are completely unaware of what others went through. Still singing the same song of missing apartheid years later. It is scary. I am not for what is happening now, but I don't see why the alternative is the previous government. Why is the alternative not a better government? One that can see ALL people as equal AND be efficient.

[@henrybatten3315]

@@MJ31579 Unless I'm missing something from other threads that's not what he said. He didn't say put the previous government in power, he just effectively said that the ANC is incompetent and shouldn't have been put in power.

[@aeasthouse316]

"hold my beer" says every western country leader. They are trying their utmost best to match the government of South Africa. Look at the decay in the USA, Canada, America Europe. Still early days but just look how far backwards we (western countries) have gone in the past 10 years (since 2008 really) - mostly in the name of "carbon neutral" bull!

[@theoutsider6191]

I remember talking to a South African contractor in London in 2000, he said he'd left the country because following the end of the troubles, all the major utilities and government contracts had been subject to large scale corruption, and nepotism with contracts being awarded to completely incompetent or corrupt individuals and organisations.... only 23 years ago, and it looks like he was right. Tragic.

[@defeatSpace]

blame china

[@tafadzwashepherd4580]

You must feed the comrades brother. 😅

[@glenblignaut9977]

The Irish engineers sat at the Dros restaurant in Witbank drinking ect instead of doing their jobs at the power station/s. So they asked me ..take them to the Tin cups bar up the road, in Witbank and I took them there.. I sat down having a beer when all of a sudden some Afrikaners arrived and beat the hell out of them..don't mess with Afrikaans women which apprantly one of them did before .. the barlady said why don't you help your friends? I said that they are not my friends I just showed them how to get here. Afterwards a turbine blew up because the black 'engineer' was screwing a girl in the bathroom and the only other fella pressed the emergency STOP button at the turbines which didn't work so the turbine ran away..exploded..pieces were found km's away..the engineer was promoted! No one was in the control room. Sounds like Chernobyl or ok the Russians today.

[@fixpacifica]

I remember talking to a taxi driver in Cape Town in early 2000. I had just come from Zimbabwe and was telling him I hoped South Africa wouldn't go the way of Zimbabwe. He scoffed at that and said it would never happen. He also said he was about to emigrate to Israel.

[@dawidj.vanhuffel8217]

​@@defeatSpace nope space man. Blame western-Africa capitalistic influence

[@MosesMatsepane]

This is how reporting should be done, no fluff, no propaganda, just straight up information.

[@NicholasWilliams-x5c]

In America we harvest the personal data and intellectual property of Africans to dominate their markets & peoples minds ☺

[@BBC600]

Nope... You can smell the presenter's bias.

[@OmmerSyssel]

and no one used the N word as explanation! Very impressive, what glorious woke days we live in LOL LOL

[@MosesMatsepane]

@@BBC600 Nah bro there is no bias here, Eskom is destroying the country. The reporting is 100% accurate, no South African apart from the politicians will disagree with this report.

[@kickedinthecalfbyacow7549]

@@BBC600 you can see bias even when it’s not there

[@donjoel6754]

As a student here in SA its really a difficult thing to our studies and safety. It is a great country with tons of potential but it needs action against corruption.

[@thugbob2timestwice]

Blame the whites?😅

[@EJ-bq1nu]

@@nanoobis Your group has destroyed the entire world and can't live without destroying everything they touch. Return home to Europe and colonize each other 😂

[@EJ-bq1nu]

@@nanoobis Your group burned billions of acres of forests, driven millions species to extinction, and put holes in the ozone layer. SA isn't even a real country.

[@alexcargill3602]

​​@@nanoobis He is not to blame for the actions of others. I am also a student in South Africa and it's a difficult situation we are going to have to fix.

[@diy5729]

It HAD great potential while Whites still had their country. Their country OR their labor that built that country was stolen. The useless blacks stole the country and turned it to shit...

[@ahdr8852]

As a citizen of Johannesburg it’s fascinating to see rolling blackouts finally reported on news such as the BBC. I must emphasise that this is the fault of the ANC, it is their making, and they will do whatever they can do to distance themselves from it. I pray that they will be removed from power in my lifetime

[@grogery1570]

Why aren't people putting solar panels on their homes? Adelaide in South Australia has gone from an inadequate power generation system to being unable to handle all the power produced because of the popularity of solar. I would have thought a solar and battery solution could fix this problem far quicker than coal power plants. Another thing Australia is closing down as solar power is so much cheaper. I did not expect so many responses to his comment Not a lot of people liked it but I have learned more about South African politics in the last week than the last year. I am sorry to hear about so much trouble caused by greed and corruption when there are answers that would make everyone richer.

[@DickCheneyXX]

I'm frankly impressed the production facilities lasted this long after Apartheid. It's not about to improve, if they skipped maintenance for 30 years this will only keep spiraling out of control.

[@goodfes]

Very sad to learn of this topic and for something so key for day to day life. I don't know much about SA politics but having one party in power for all that time cannot be healthy for any nation.

[@infiniteloopcounter9444]

@@grogery1570 Solar panels are large and require easy to access cabling with metals with resale value, both of which are prime stealing candidates in this country. You can see this going many years back even with international projects, such as the square kilometer array where people would drive to hill tops to remove parts in vans for resale. Adelaide, South Australia would be better served focusing efforts on nuclear power as that general region of the world has the highest quantity of easy to access Uranium and excellent universities with history going back more than a century in nuclear research. The prices for energy is extremely high in Adelaide for the resources available, indicating you have some level of corruption also -- just manifesting differently with your standard of living propped up by sales of raw resources nationally. Here in Osaka Japan the imported liquified natural gas, etc. comes in large part from Australia and general living costs are much cheaper, but with the cost worse working conditions. You are really lucky to be in a country that can support better quality of life just by digging up and selling things, but also this can tend to some corruption elements as in South Africa.

[@MarkoVukovic0]

@@grogery1570 we are and have been, mate. But, this is beyond reach financially for the average South African. So far also, only the opposition run city of Cape Town is making provisions for households to feed excess power back into the grid.

[@corneallerston8127]

I am so grateful that the world notices what is going on in South Africa.

[@davidadamson3664]

Watching your country descend back into the stone age won't help you. The only way to save what civility remains (if it's not too late) is to bring back apartheid. If you don't separate yourselves from the primitive people, you will die with them.

[@leratomoreki9002]

And then what's going to happen after they noticed?

[@AnsuErasmus]

@@leratomoreki9002 with the current leaders, nothing.

[@jamestruter2788]

Unfortunately they also have their own issues, some bigger, some on the same level. But yeah not a good place to be in.

[@str8xrippin]

Youyou understand that once this is aired out to the public the rand will lose confidence and plummet the country into a state like Zimbabwe

[@Jesuslovesme137]

Living in South Africa is increasingly becoming difficult each day. God save our nation and country.

[@NicholasWilliams-x5c]

In America, we harvest the personal data & intellectual property of africans to dominate the markets ☺ hahaha Dollar STRONG, Africa DOMINATED

[@codyblade7872]

Unfortunately this country can not be saved with the ANC in charge.

[@dybnow]

God can not save you while everyone continues to vote ANC. Besides, isn't the ANC Christian?

[@Ivan-kw1jg]

Literally animal farm

[@YoLo-bb2vc]

when people rely on unreliable sources for help, then the only result is emptiness and puzzlement when people ask themselves why nothing was done. yet when people rely on each other, then progress is made, societies are born and stuff is done as the people helping each other are doing so to improve there lives. religions, gods and the like hinder hope because they get the unaware to believe in such things when the truth is the religion is an unreliable source of progress and hope.

[@justmusic822]

I live in South Africa. I wish I can put my frustration and anger into words.

[@willysbakery6878]

bliksem donner fok en kak. no apologies

[@kevinasllanaj154]

Your fault idiot

[@mkuluclive3783]

Corruption is the name of the game, in each ANC generation they do the same.

[@marioluigi9599]

Yes and the south African people ABSOLUTELY deserve it all, for voting for this stupid political party again and again for how many years now? They vote for them for no other reason than the fact that they're black and the history with nelson Mandela. In other words, they're racist against all the white people in the country. It's reverse racism to get back at the white people for the injustices of the past. And all it does as a result is breed long term corruption.

[@eddietat95]

Hey, that rhymes

[@marioluigi9599]

EVERYONE in that country that votes ANC is at fault. I've never been to South Africa, but I've watched their parliament and it's the biggest circus in the world. An absolute joke and it's amazing that the people are not embarrassed by it, but keep voting for it. Absolutely deserved, because it's such a massive majority that votes ANC.

[@mkuluclive3783]

@@eddietat95 of course it does, I'm a song writer ....

[@ilyasergeevich7621]

please pray for rain in Novocherkassk

[@hypergraphic]

Thanks for reporting on this ongoing crisis. As a US expat living in SA for almost a decade, it's an ongoing train wreck. What that country could be with a good government is hard to overstate.

[@sarahdlp524]

There are literally trillions of dollars of wealth waiting to be made, yet the socialist focus is on redistributing wealth already made. You need a capitalist government to focus on economic growth.

[@davorniksic9288]

Such a fancy word for immigrant - expat.

[@nkanyisonkosi5392]

A dysfunctional lobbyist controlled, gridlocked US govt with an astronomical unsustainable ever increasing debt, soon to face TRUMPS retribution return is an ideal example of good governance for SA.

[@nkanyisonkosi5392]

@QetteshFor example: Ppl are getting shot in the US. Others turn into zombies bcos of drugs. Homelessness is increasing etc. etc. I can say more but I won't because I find nothing plausible in grandstanding on others misfortunes n sufferings . It's not funny or wise. The new Africa is now rapidly emerging to earn respect. Global leaders are all over Africa scrambling for resources. This time, being so nice n smoothy because they know the odds. Thank you though for your goodwill wish for Africa. Wish the same for your country in a fast changing world. We also pray that the fall of others doesn't become painful. Black as i am, I won't set foot in the US. I detest cops mistreatment of human beings. Cheers

[@margyeoman3564]

​@Qettesh Well, how do you like the 'clown' that is President now? Curious in Canada.

[@gjohanl]

Unless you are here, living this hell, you cannot imagine what it is like. The impact on our children is severe. Continued loss of power causes upsets in schooling, doing homework or even just basic recreation. You just sit in the dark waiting for the power to come on. The impact on mental health remains unmeasured, but hear this here: we are fast becoming a lost and hopeless generation. How do you build a future with that?

[@jasonhaven7170]

Literally fewer Black South Africans had electricity than the Dutch/English colonists during Apartheid. Only the Whites benefited from Apartheid while Black people lived in abject poverty. The ANC lifted millions of Black South Africans out of abject poverty and they are the majority and will continue to vote for them until there's a viable option. Not the DA (who only support their White middle-class base), not the EFF or FF+ who are White Supremacists.

[@jasonhaven7170]

@William Braddell They're disgusting people. Colonists trying to colonise other places.

[@liberatumplox625]

Surely it must also radically impact other industries and infrastructure. How, for example - can you run any large scale chemical / fertiliser plants under such conditions? Do they generate power on site, or have such industries just packed up and left? It seems like a matter of time before the lights go out for good in South Africa. Dark times indeed.

[@tonynz9954]

You try to build your future in another country. NZ for instance. Braaivleis , rugby , sonneskyn en Suid Afrikaners.

[@ehall5151]

When we are in stage 6 for about a week together - that’s between 10 and 12 hours without power a day - the water pumping stations can’t stay online so anyone living up a hill loses running water as well as electricity. Water treatment facilities, hospitals, warehouses, and grocery stores are not exempt from the blackouts. Consider the need to boil water to make it safe to drink (without power for a kettle), the impact on hospitals needing mission-critical generators to keep systems running (especially during a pandemic with a need for respirators!), and the food waste in both bulk fridges/freezers and your own home. I’ve been a Johannesburg resident for the last 3 years. The impact on daily life is intense and shocking.

[@TheMemeDynamics]

I'm a Korean student that is living in South Africa. The energy crisis wasn't as serious as it is now. The radio every morning is talking about a total grid collapse, and nothing else. All the traffic lights, or robots, as we call them here, constantly breaking down, not being able to cook a nice, warm dinner, and having to sleep in the cold due to the power cuts is just miserable.

[@gustabeumer688]

They are stealing the traffic lights now.

[@RatKirby]

One thing you did not mention was that, while the ANC has repeatedly stated that it is committed to getting rid of any alleged corruption, they also voted in parliament to not investigate the alleged corruption at Eskom.

[@izetteroos6888]

😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢😢 my eyes are watering. I am soooo frustrated to have to live like this. No insight is occurring

[@AnneliedeWet]

Exactly... F...them and Ramaparra. And also the DA with their USA disinformed views on Russia and the USA proxy war.

[@Christobanistan]

@@izetteroos6888 Solution is simple. Vote the ANC out, across the board.

[@kylefleming7680]

@@Christobanistan I think we’re past that. We need stockades and gallows.

[@izetteroos6888]

@@Christobanistan eye roll...

[@janniemeyer9951]

One word. CORRUPTION!

[@lawrencegatley6157]

Skipping down the road to a failed state. Some would say its there already

[@williamshaw5388]

Is that why none of you have heat?

[@NovemberTheHacker]

The word starts with N

[@ralphdavis9670]

Yes indeed. No dreams can happen with corruption - only deepening corruption.

[@Jonathan_Strange]

3 words: *A* frican *N* ational *C* orruption

[@daledevernon56]

Since the ANC came into power their main aim was to remain in power at all costs enrich themselves through the process and do as little as possible to deal with the issues that plague the country. Now that the US has proof that the ANC government has provided Russia with arms, sanctions could be looming and this could be the final nail in the coffin.

[@jimdake6632]

No chance. The US will continue to give ANC what it wants, to do otherwise creates unnecessary political problems at home. Even Trump didn’t go there. Democrats never will.

[@embreis2257]

@@jimdake6632 you mean, if the west shuns the corrupt ANC government, they'll turn to China and ruzzia and that is enough of a threat to overlook all mess the ANC creates?

[@pamclarke6785]

Yes South Africa is skating on VERY thin ice.

[@rosaliamavulu]

South africa doesn't even have enough weapons for its self. How can they have extra weapons to give to Russia ? America just wants to bully SA. To hell with the Yankees!

[@dnxsol]

Another US manipulation of countries, get your facts other than CNN

[@X13T91]

As a fellow south african im glad our power situation is now known globally

[@kevincinnamontoast3669]

How do you keep your ice cream from melting?

[@LuthandoMiya-dc4ks]

Will that solve the problem?

[@dgm8004]

The real problem is that the majority of the black population don't want to give up on the ANC despite all the failures and corruption.They poll as of today at 52%,way much more than they deserve now.Its actually really sad...

[@DickCheneyXX]

They are getting what they deserve then.

[@jcreed09]

Vote on emotions, lingering effects of Apartheid, the ANC plays to those emotions to their advantage, detriment of the people. Reminds me of Poor Whites in Red States who consistently vote Republican and voted AGAINST their own self-interest since November 1980, no universal healthcare, shit education, bad infrastructure- poorest states in the Union are Red States.

[@Wolf-hh4rv]

Too stupid to vote out the party that has betrayed them in every way. Stupidity.

[@antonycatella5901]

@@DickCheneyXX There are many people in SA who have never voted for the ANC and never will but are suffering and they do not deserve it. Unfortunately many of these people do not have any option to leave the country

[@DickCheneyXX]

@@antonycatella5901 Surely the border security of your neighbors isn't that great.

[@christheviiking]

As a South African having moved to England in 2021. Having experienced COVID-19, Day 0, and stage 6 loadshedding, 4 hours a time, 3 times a day. It was mental. Absolutely mental. Schools unable to operate, a daily water limit per person. I am 19 now. Still in contact with people and family in SA. It’s still mental. Cyril has done almost nothing but lie about solving any of the above mentioned issues. They have gone on too long. South Africa is my country, it’s people are my people. We must stand, all over the world. Light must be shon upon this state of corruption and madness.

[@detdet3871]

That is why they don't fix the electricity because they don't want light to be shown on corruption.

[@EJ-bq1nu]

You are not South African, you are European 😂 welcome back home. Tell your family to return with you

[@hendrikdebruin4012]

How is it your country if you have moved somewhere else. Imagine how my generation must feel - recruited into the SADF after school at age 16 to put your young life on the line fighting the Cubans in Angola - and for what? For nothing - so many young men cut down before life even started and what for?

[@FamtechVideos]

Yebo!

[@madsm1254]

As if there were no Covid lockdowns in England. Not even talking about 'forced' vaccinations.

[@llewellynlombard7428]

South Africa is setting an example to the rest of Africa in how not being able to run a country economically. You can not employ people with no experience in doing just that, not knowing.

[@johntomlinson6849]

Lol! Africa needs no lessons in that!

[@tvs9978]

Your sentence structure is terrible!

[@borjastick]

Zimbabwe anyone?

[@madelinemardigan3386]

The whole world

[@curiositycloset2359]

Too many racial theory degrees, not enough engineering degrees

[@dachreport]

People in the comment section will never understand until their sewerage facilities fail due to no power. It is what South Africa is going through at the moment. Pumps are failing and sewer is being backed up and flowing onto the streets, into the rivers and into the ocean. Its revolting

[@shamrock141]

I grew up in South Africa, toward the end of my time there, about 4 years ago, power cuts, what we call load shedding typically only happened twice a week for 2 hours a day Having recently visited to see my family it was horrendous. 8 hours of daytime with no power, in fact when I landed a power substation had malfunctioned, leaving my hometown without power all day The effect this is having on people is brutal. Can't effectively freeze your food, can't run small businesses without a generator, can't live in a country loaded with natural wealth The government is crippled with corruption, there's no future for the vast majority of people, and it's unfortunately why I left my home

[@yibambe356]

Let's hope more choose to leave. Let's make South Africa Great again.

[@United-States-of-Africa]

Haha 😄 go back to Europe. But you welcome to visit.

[@allanhutton1123]

Hope you didn't move to the UK because give that place time. I lived there for 18 years and to me it looks like it's going back to the 1970. And that wasnt so hip

[@freddiefreihofer7716]

What could possibly have changed to cause this?

[@KiingM]

You made the right choice. Instead of things getting better, they are getting worse and worse.

[@ejvanrensburg608]

The sole purpose of our power stations is to fund Range Rovers, as a side effect electricity is produced

[@anna-mariedupreez542]

True.

[@laurenireland710]

I salute the citizens of S. Africa who try and continue with their daily lives, compromising and fighting to keep their businesses and families going under very difficult circumstances.

[@almamoodley8996]

Thanks for your sympathy.

[@robinblick9375]

So why do so many of these citizens vote for the party that creates these 'very difficult cirmcudsntances'?

[@coralgardiner6695]

Thanks Lauren. That is very kind of you

[@WellLane]

this is madness in another country ramaposa would b handcuffed in jail

[@toddprickett6376]

@@WellLane Unless that "country" was California where pretty much the same things are happening.

[@B1G_SM0K3Y]

i'm watching this during loadshedding

[@carstenthies9597]

I moved to South Africa in 1998 from Germany. Nelson Mandela was president and there was real hope and enthusiasm in the country. I built a business and employed multiple South Africans. About two years ago I gave up and started preparations to leave. I am now living in another country and I have not regretted it. The ANC has ruined what could have been an african success story proving all the haters wrong. Unfortunately corruption and incompetence will bring South Africa to a similar low-point like Zimbabwe reached 15 years ago. People in Cape Town will realize it late but South Africa is already well down that path.

[@coralgardiner6695]

100% true !

[@johnsmith-ht3sy]

Cape Town residents are Liberal tree hugging Green hippies.

[@kylefleming7680]

I don’t know a South African who isn’t trying to leave.

[@jasonhaven7170]

There's simply no other parties for Black South Africans (who are the majority) to vote for. The EFF are Black Supremacists. The FF+ are White Supremacists. The DA only cares about middle/upper-class White/Coloured/Indian people. For the majority, the ANC are the only viable option.

[@JoesephStevens]

I have no pity for a people who murder and torture children of White farmers the same farmers who supply their food...I HAVE NO SYMPATHY FOR THE REST OF THEM WHO STAND BY AND ALLOW IT TO HAPPEN

[@erwinheinhuis]

My neighbors (70 years of age) who spent 5 months every year on a retirement visa in Somerset West, sold their house a few months ago. The reason was load shedding, a very unpleasant treatment in the SA embassy in Amsterdam (in order to obtain a visa), Russian war ships in the port of Cape Town and the all present corruption over there. My advise is to get out of SA while you still can.

[@coralgardiner6695]

Easier said than done sadly

[@albertjohnhattingh3018]

Russian war ships in Cape town harbor, there are American warships in almost every harbor in the world. Remember Russia is only fighting one war and America is envolved in 17, wake up it was America and Britain that gave this country to the ANC to destroy.

[@jacocoetzee5163]

This is my country and I would not ever leave it the white man will build it up again thank you

[@user-vz1cf5hd2z]

​@@coralgardiner6695 💯

[@user-vz1cf5hd2z]

​@echoespast exactly

[@mgilija1588]

ANC is just beyond repair. We just need new leaders please. 🙏🏾

[@scottmac-cheeserae4531]

This goes far deeper than the ANC...it's the people themselves. You've had 30 years to straighten things out.

[@WellLane]

@@scottmac-cheeserae4531 u bubas wanted ramaposa now u got him deal with it

[@ivanbasson982]

Sir, you only get the Government you deserve....

[@granmabern5283]

@@ivanbasson982good leaders come from good parents, by the Grace of God.

[@NicholasWilliams-x5c]

In America, we harvest the personal data & intellectual property of africans, to dominate their markets haha ☺ The US Dollar GREATER than Africa 😃

[@carolinahenn3126]

The government completely letting its citizens down. I am South African, the country is falling apart. Corruption and incompetence is a disastrous combination. It breaks my heart. Our lovely country with its lovely people.😢

[@rayboish]

Even from afar ( England ) we can see what has happened to South Africa since ANC took over. We could also see dramatically the mentality of a lot of the people when they practically destroyed the railways etc during Covid. I feel sorry for the Law abiding hard working people being surrounded by this greed and corruption.

[@Thedrewzz]

It's very difficult for any country which has suffered apartheid, be it religious or racial, immediately to forget the past and be a beacon of probity from year one. After decades of deprivation and exclusion, a new majority black government will be bound to have rotten apples who think "I want a piece of the action here now" and try to fill their boots. It's happened ever since decolonization. The abused become the abusers. Mandela was in relative terms a titan of morality who kept the self-serving thieves at bay. Since Zuma's chaotic reign, it has all gone to pot.

[@janco333]

@@Thedrewzz Please don't blame apartheid for the shitty governance SA is facing now. The real issue is the socialist/communist policies combined with corruption.

[@tubester4567]

@@Thedrewzz Come on, corruption is a huge problem right across Africa. Its normal even the police are corrupt and shake down people for money. Africans are hopeless at running a state. Haiti has been a black country for 200 years, but it is in chaos and on the verge of collapse. When in power Africans turn to pure greed and oppression of others.

[@Thedrewzz]

@@janco333 And where are the socialist/communist policies born from, if not the misery experienced under decades of apartheid?

[@MrMalgul]

@@Thedrewzz stop making excuses for multiple errors...the first step to correction is admission, something ANC and their kind are unable to do...

[@lawrencegatley6157]

Absolutely crippling to small business and the whole economy.

[@esperandodiabela1766]

may they loose it until they stop sending weapons to russia. sick people

[@joeyhoward-williams8853]

@@esperandodiabela1766 thats a terrible thing to say, the people of south africa have nothing to do with that and almost all of them are against the current government

[@colinwinogradoff6794]

​@@joeyhoward-williams8853 they just got caught shipping weapons to RUSSIA wake the hell up

[@DickCheneyXX]

@@joeyhoward-williams8853 Yet they keep voting for the ANC... Weird how that works.

[@antonycatella5901]

@@DickCheneyXX it is the same the world over. People in the UK still vote Conversative even though their communities have been destroyed by government cuts over the last 13 years. There are many reasons for people voting for political parties even if it is not in their best interests: lack of education, promises made, media influence, lack of trust, dislike of the other political parties etc. In the context of SA, the main opposition party is considered by many to be the 'party for the whites'

[@davidmcfarlane5873]

Two words,incompetence and corruption.

[@retiefjoubert55]

I've always said ignorance, arrogance and corruption.

[@jerry3790]

I live in South Africa but my family is lucky enough to earn in USD so we haven’t faced most of the effects of loadshedding. Still, with the way the country is going it feels inevitable that we will have to leave one day. It hurts though because it’s still my home. I hope that eventually things will be sorted out and we won’t need to worry about such things but god knows how long that will take.

[@richtshepo]

How do you earn USD if I can get $10k I am out

[@debigreybe6434]

🇿🇦 A day in the life of a South African. Yesterday our power was off between 00h00-02h30, 08h00-10h30, 14h00-18h30. Today we're off between 00h00-02h30, 08h00-10h30, 16h00-18h30, 22h00-00h30. We factor this into running our businesses, internet connectivity, using power tools, appliances, cooking, lighting our homes, charging phones, boiling the kettle for a cup of tea. Wealthy businesses and affluent homes have installed diesel-powered generators and solar panels. The rest of us make do. Less privileged homes suffer greatly. The effect on our economy is disastrous.

[@scottmac-cheeserae4531]

The writing was on the wall when the country was given to those who did not build it.

[@Betapro461]

@@scottmac-cheeserae4531 Are you a racist?

[@nzuzobrian6488]

Not all of us 👀 we at Umlazi we have cutout of 2 hours a during the day and 2 hours on early morning...it not bad as you put it.

[@nzuzobrian6488]

@@scottmac-cheeserae4531 who built it then? Let me guess the white 😆

[@GreenClassified]

​@@nzuzobrian6488 yes that's exactly who created South Africa, it isn't even up for debate. Everything about SA that was worth anything, is worth anything is because of European settlement.

[@margipinto7925]

I live in South Africa and I can confirm that it’s much more than 9 hours a day. 😔

[@Psychosoul139]

Too true - I’m in Morningside Johannesburg and its been 11 hours every day this week.

[@quickuploads3971]

Assuming no faults. In North Riding down the road we’ve had a 37hr, 21hr and 10hr single outage in just a week

[@ashdav9980]

How in the world does anyone work and earn a living without power daily? Do your homes and businesses have generator backup? Our business couldn’t function without power, I am at a loss to how anyone’s could in 2023.

[@Psychosoul139]

@@ashdav9980 - with great difficulty…

[@yohighness]

@@ashdav9980 Many businesses and some wealthy residential estates have back-up generators. The economy has to go on.

[@kruno1861]

I am doing business with SA for the last 8-9 years and I am traveling there alot. It's unbelievable how this country is regressing in every way possible. Corruption, crime, stupidity, missmanagement.... Not sure if it's just ANC or something else.... but one thing is sure, this country is going in a very bad direction. Sad for a country with such a huge human and resource potential.

[@deborahmanning8031]

All by design and it's coming to your country too. In fact it's already started you just don't see it yet.

[@baddman69]

No, It IS the ANC.

[@SeanD808]

We call men in dresses women.... so there you go...

[@MiguelPinto-k9i]

@@deborahmanning8031 You must be from South Africa yes? No need to try and bring another Country into the same light. South Africa is going backwards, end of story. It is 2023 and not enough electric supply, what a joke!

[@MiguelPinto-k9i]

@@deborahmanning8031 P.S Please attach the link with your info on why other Countries are going in the same direction, I mean you must have a source for your statement?

[@danae7054]

Thank you for creating international awareness of the reality of daily life in South Africa. Our country has been crippled by the governing party. We are teetering on the brink of the abyss of total collapse. How sad for a country that had so much promise.

[@jonesyjones7626]

I’m staggered that BBC is telling the truth on this. Given their normal bias, I would have expected them to tell us everything is great under the ANC.

[@johntomlinson6849]

Same here!

[@Grim-HEX]

Ah you must have missed the part where the west is turning on the anc due to the west believing we're helping Russia.

[@denak8200]

The only trace of cunning and intelligence left in the BBC is when they are directly trying to manipulate and deceive you, and here they did a masterful job indeed. This isn’t the truth, it’s a watered down truth to the point a bottle vodka is now the size of an Olympic swimming pool, its outrageous, bordering on false. What do I mean? South Africa was once a highly technologically advanced society with a nuclear power program, a vast and resilient economy, very high living standards and she truly had many things going for her. That was 30 years ago. Now in 2023 in South Africa they can no longer keep the lights on or sewers flowing, their economy is in utter shambles reduced to a tiny shell of what it proudly once was, there global power non existent and serious crime is through the roof. Using every conceivable metric South Africa is failing miserably, and to top it off they may shortly be sanctioned, the only thing keeping the country afloat is the wealthy Europeans who managed to cling onto there enterprises while operating them from abroad or secured compound. I really think many of you reading truly don’t understand the magnitude to how unbelievable all of this is. South Africa is FINISHED. They have completely Destroyed the entire nation, long in the making it’s now over, she’s done. And yet the traitorous BBC conjure up a pathetic 7 minute little talk slightly touching upon ‘corruption’. The complete gutting and total destruction of a mighty and powerful nation that took 100’s of years to build from the ground up from the harsh barren unforgiving African plains, so many boers perished building there nation you could pile there bodies in wagons and stretch the convoy out as far as the eye can see and it would still not come close to amount of men, woman and children who died making that place great, making it there home.

[@kylefleming7680]

It’s likely the first in an avalanche of coverage on South Africa following the condemnation of the country by the USA regarding the weapon sales.

[@jumblestiltskin1365]

All it tells me is that it must be absolutely catastrophically bad for the BBC to break cover and report on anything that might break "the message".

[@catchthehare]

I spent 5 formative years in Cape Town and it's safe to say 1994 to the early 2000s were the best years in South Africa's rebirth. F. W. de Klerk effectively handed the presidency to Mandela, along with a functional and bustling economy. There was real hope for the rainbow nation. Thabo took the reigns admirably and his resignation ultimately unleashed the crooks to govern from thereon in

[@tatumsimpson297]

A functional bustling economy? The same functional bustling economy that had international sanctions imposed on it? South Africa boomed after apartheid ended. We just should have held onto our ideals of ubuntu, rather than getting drawn into the greed of the global north. I believe the problems started in the negotiation rooms when the ANC agreed to relinquish South Africa's wealth to the people who were pilfering it during apartheid in exchange for our freedom. We got our freedom but we didn't get economic equality, while having the ideals of capitalism programmed into us - is it any wonder that people have turned to greed and selfishness? But then again, anyone who admires Mbeki, clearly has their priorities skewed: caused 100s of thousands of deaths, originated the policies that ultimately resulted in the current energy crisis, and was so inept that his presidency ushered in the leadership that resulted in the floodgates for corruption.

[@catchthehare]

@@tatumsimpson297 I don’t think we disagree very much? And certainly don’t advocate what the ANC has done to ruin the country

[@sarahdlp524]

You haven't quite got that right. He didn't resign he was got rid of. Thabo (a trained economist) tried his utmost to take the ANC more capitalist and understood that corruption was an economically destructive force (remember the Chinese execute corrupt officials). At Mangaung THE LEFT (Julius Malema, ANC Youth League, SA Communist Party Dr Blade Nzimande, the Unions, and Gwede Mantashe) got rid of him and put in the Communist Jacob Zuma. What was the first thing he did? Get rid of Vusi Pikoli the National Prosecutor, disband the anti corruption unit The Scorpions. President Mbeki said in his speech at UNISA: I wouldn't allow them to put their hands in their pockets, so they chose someone who would.

[@catchthehare]

@@sarahdlp524 yes that’s true, he was effectively forced into “resignation”, I should have made that clear. thanks for expanding the context with Zuma, etc :)

[@joubertcoetzee6910]

@@tatumsimpson297 you got given your freedom but you wanted more??? How is that Ubuntu? That's greed! Everyone has to start from scratch no matter who they are. What makes you so special? It's this (your) exact attitude and way of thinking that is the problem.

[@davidr4523]

As black man and former resident of South Africa, Apartheid was a terrible policy but are the people of South Africa better off today? Several thoughts. 1. Corruption and crime are even higher 2. No investments were made in infrastructure. How can we move to electric cars or even stay on the internet? 3. Almost all international investments have stopped flowing into the country 4. There has been a mass exodus of our most talented people. 5. There is now an reverse discrimination against white folk. smh!!!

[@jasonhaven7170]

You're not Black. Literally fewer Black South Africans had electricity than the Dutch/English colonists during Apartheid. Only the Whites benefited from Apartheid while Black people lived in abject poverty. The ANC lifted millions of Black South Africans out of abject poverty and they are the majority and will continue to vote for them until there's a viable option. Not the DA (who only support their White middle-class base), not the EFF or FF+ who are White Supremacists.

[@Mariusmjvr]

They are worse off but can vote.

[@davidr4523]

@@Mariusmjvr agreed! But they are now free to vote for the next corrupt political who will destroy South Africa even further.

[@I9s7lam5is-S3tu1pid]

@@Mariusmjvr - when you vote based on stupidity you get more stupidity. When you vote based on blaming others but yourself you get leaders who’ll blame others but themselves. Blaming others or victimhood or apartheid is just an excuse to get away from self responsibility. It’s just so much easier to blame anyone but yourself. It’s so bloody much harder to blame yourself and start changing your ways because it takes waaay too long.

[@NicholasWilliams-x5c]

In America we harvest the personal data, and intellectual property of Africans to dominate their markets, and their peoples minds ☺

[@Johnydogood]

This is so sad, i live in the US, and have a very close friend in cape town ... i hope The truth comes to light soon! Hugs to all of you dealing with this madness.

[@rchatte100]

Well it took longer for the ANC to wreck SA than I thought. Mugabisation is well under way.

[@ravenblack7052]

We skipped the Mugabestan phase and are hurtling towards Haiti gangland!

[@tonynz9954]

I am surprised that the BBC has not blamed Jan van Riebeek for South Africa's electricity woes. LOL.😂

[@dianathompson8794]

I was pleasantly surprised that for once the BBC gave a very fair and balanced report on SA's failures.

[@anna-mariedupreez542]

Or blamed apartheid for it.

[@tonynz9954]

@@anna-mariedupreez542 Yes apartheid is used as a scape goat for everything that the ANC stuffs up.

[@yohighness]

Why would they?

[@lindelwanothandongcobo8863]

@@anna-mariedupreez542 Lover of apartheid

[@gregorydesleskine3413]

South Africa has been systematically brought to its knees by the ANC government. There is not one system or government department that is fully functional or works here. Corruption is rife, businesses are closing, the unemployment rate is beyond staggering, the crime levels are out of control, and public service delivery is almost non-existent. A few months ago the ANC was unable to pay its office bearers, suddenly it can do so after the Russian ship that docked here in our navy base, but when accused of selling arms to Russia, president Ramaphosa says" We are looking into the matter." A daughter of South Africa’s disgraced former President Jacob Zuma has been placed at the centre of a Russia-backed Twitter campaign to bolster support for the attack on Ukraine, according to social media research commissioned and funded by the Centre for Information Resilience. A study backed by the London-based nonprofit, which raises funding for specific projects, alleges that Duduzile Zuma-Sambudla was at the forefront of Russia’s drive to sway public opinion to its side in South Africa and beyond. Posts bearing her name were reused in other regions in the #IStandWithRussia and #IStandWithPutin Twitter campaigns, according to the CIR.

[@AnneliedeWet]

​@@bluecheesehasmoldinit what price? Have you seen America's price tags? A global terrorist.

[@PrincessVelaryon]

It's crazy how all of a sudden, the government is so pro Russia when most of the citizens couldn't care less about the Russians. The ANC is purely acting alone and not for the benefit or direction of the citizens.

[@jsdutoit85]

Don’t forgot her role in inciting violence during the horrendous riots 2 years ago. Just boggles the mind that she wasn’t charged, oh wait, it’s the ANC in charge….

[@sibusisomacu477]

I am a student and I live in South Africa. Not only are businesses affected but also our studying schedules are affected. We are approaching June exams but we don't have lights and WI-FI to study at night and it's almost winter we can't even use our heaters. Libraries are always full, sometimes you can't even find a seat because students from all the residences go to study in the library during loadshedding hours.

[@UnkownMassacre]

What's scary is the lack of protests. If this happened in any other country every government minister would be dragged through the street until only the rope remained.

[@AnneliedeWet]

No not so. America blew up Germany's Nordstrom pipeline and no one protests. That's even worse.

[@kingalfred3902]

This wont happen because it is the black majority .......(.which are screaming the loudest .)......that keeps them in power .......such is the hatred towards the whites..!!.....and then they try to tell everybody that blacks cannot be racist.!!...

[@dianathompson8794]

Ih there are protests alright. Where infrastructure is burned and people are killed. But its the government voters doing it. Against the government they voted in. But the ANC takes no notice

[@kylefleming7680]

I hope that people learn how to protest like the French. The energy ministers need a bathtub thrown through their windows.

[@LORDMAD98]

We've all just given up since we know no matter who we put in power shit will never really change

[@kasikwagoma6740]

I am from Zambia and a black African lady... What is happening in south Africa is of no surprise to me,it is a classic black African script. One by one as the old colonial rulers were shunted out,the competent and effective systems they had in place before independence were replaced by highly incompetent, clueless, lazy and visionless rulers and civil servants. This has been the pattern throughout black Africa. Functioning countries at independence were turned into dysfunctional countries. Look at what happened in Zimbabwe, I went to secondary school there from 1984 onwards. Every school holiday I returned back to Zambia and would tell my friends what a beautiful, clean orderly, very safe country Zimbabwe was. In fact Zimbabweans who had fled the white racist minority government of Ian Smith to Zambia began returning to Zimbabwe, such was the ist class life there. You hardly found millions of Zimbabweans around the world who had fled, because Zimbabwe was just too good to leave, they had everything... There would be power cuts now and again in Zambia, but not in Zimbabwe... Look at what misrule, rampant corruption, incompetence, nepotism, kleptocracy have done. I used to marvel at Zimbabwe, the once mighty mighty zim dollar is no more, it has become a useless piece of money like many African countries, South Africa was the last one left to become like their fellow neighbours. Welcome to the club of incompetency south Africans, this is what the real Africa is.... Dysfunctional. Even China who genuinely wants to help developing our countries will soon get tired of our ways, we are just not cut out to succeed. Maybe that is how we were made. Funny enough, the only country in black Africa that I feel is cut out for greatness are the Nigerians. Their problem is the leadership, just give Nigerians a Deng Xiao Peng and it's prowess will come through. Any people who are openly critical of its leaders and the way things are run in their countries are destined for greatness(Nigerians will not sugar coat anything they say it as it is and won't shy away from criticising the bad leadership they have.),because they acknowledge they have a problem and want to address it. But the majority of Africans only believe the white man is to blame for every single problem bedeviling Africa, yet we are the ones at the helm, so how can we ever solve the problems that are making us suffer and shaming us at the same time.

[@Reaper08]

It's refreshing hearing another African talk about this problem. Colonial abuse and exploitation by the European powers does not excuse incompetence and corruption. Asian countries went through the same but are doing a hell of a lot better than African countries. I must disagree with you on China. The goal of aiding developing countries in Africa is to spread their influence and trap African nations in debt and to slowly take over said countries via state-owned companies buying up land and installing pro-Chinese leaders. France does the same in its former African colonies. It is merely exploitation by another name, albeit more beneficial in the short term.

[@beewest5704]

Exactly its time we as Africans take responsibility & accountability for the state our continent is in. How long can we blame colonizers when we & the leaders we choose are our biggest enemies. Woe children of Africa.

[@kingalfred3902]

The greatest of respect to you Kasikwa .......you are a visionary and a true Human being !!......every word you spoke is the TRUTH...!!!......WISH A FEW MILLION MORE BLACK ...SOUTH AFRICANS can read this comment..!!!!.....For the record ...i am a white SA male...!!

[@yohighness]

You can say the same thing about Europe. You have corrupt, poor countries in the east and south, and corrupt, rich countries in the west. Bashing your own kind only serves as ammunition to the racists and white supremacists who rejoice at anything negative said about Africans/Black people. Besides, not all African countries are as corrupt and incompetent as South Africa and Zimbabwe. There are nations such as Botswana, Seychelles and Mauritius which have been peaceful and prosperous for decades, and are LESS corrupt and better governed than 66% of countries in Europe, according to western organisations such as Transparency International and IMF. But, you won't hear the African bashers acknowledging that. People must stop using hypocritical Europe as a benchmark for anything good.

[@tenton459]

Define competence. The colonizers looked after themselves very competently.

[@awebber37]

As a South African , I have moved to the UK about 7 weeks ago. Best decision I have ever made. Quality of life is so much better here by a massive degree. There is no hope for South Africa. The damage that has been done is too bad to be recovered. As much as I love my country, I unfortunately need to look out for myself

[@CHMichael]

The right management an the country can be back to what it used to be. The solution is very unpopular. MSaGA

[@thewargimp]

It won't in 20 years, it'll be a shithole

[@ramasodimalete2699]

Goodbye Andrew, we'll stay and try fix our beloved state.

[@roryl]

@@ramasodimalete2699 No, you won't...sadly.

[@ndwandwewasendwedwe7964]

Stay there and shut the f** up

[@jean-pierreannandale828]

Im from South Africa. You got to have balls to live here. Life is getting tough.

[@mohsinjoe8617]

How's life in Cape Town?

[@lemuero]

Greetings from a farm in South Africa: We didn't have electricity in 3 days. Our grid collapsed for 400 farms, main cables burnt through and no one can fix this stuff. We are on our own. This is the collapse of infrastructure. Going solar is the only way to survive. We are on our own. No help is coming.

[@mervinsnyman1347]

So sorry to hear. Solar is expensive. You as farmers must provide food for the nation, and yet nothing gets done for you! Angry!😮

[@johnsmith-ht3sy]

Dairy farms need power to run milking parlours.

[@scottmac-cheeserae4531]

If you're white, I hope you have an arsenal too.

[@defeatSpace]

blame china

[@ptonpc]

Good luck to you.

[@MrGTO86]

It's crazy. In the noughties and late 90s the rest of Africa looked up to South Africa. Now we don't want to end up like them.

[@JitzyJT]

Then transfer the power to white people.

[@arlenespencer5850]

Yip since 1994.. What is the common denominator.

[@uniquepolyglot2022]

I am a Sudanese born in 1990s but I never looked up to South Africa, I looked up to Botswana.

[@jasonhaven7170]

Literally fewer Black South Africans had electricity than the Dutch/English colonists during Apartheid. Only the Whites benefited from Apartheid while Black people lived in abject poverty. The ANC lifted millions of Black South Africans out of abject poverty and they are the majority and will continue to vote for them until there's a viable option. Not the DA (who only support their White middle-class base), not the EFF or FF+ who are White Supremacists.

[@MrFoxxRaven]

If any brits have noticed an uptick in South African accents in towns near them this is one of the biggest reasons. I left SA back in 2017 when it wasn't even half as bad as it is now and I just don't know how people go on, I don't speak to anyone back home anymore because it's only ever bad news. Listening to all my friends suffer and watching my country slowly die breaks my heart.

[@bradleykecskes3846]

And for the better you adding your hard work and integrity(tax) to a country who knows what they are doing, 90% of RSA wants out...

[@Ew4ya]

I get that, Nothing but negativity every day stuck in a loop complaining about the same shit its really taking a toll on mental health down here people losing it

[@ArdGeal-h6c]

Christ it must be bad if you want to come and live in the UK...I want to live in Tenerife or one of our so-called "commonwealth" countries that's got sunshine but am trapped on this fuxxing miserable prison island in the coldest, wettest most miserable bit too (not so) Bonny Scotland

[@stephenarnold5981]

Noticed more and more SA living in Surrey for last 25-30 years and I always ask them why they moved here and the first thing they overwhelmingly always say is the same thing and that is that they no longer feel safe in SA. With those who can leaving SA, particularly those with skills, SA is going downhill and is the only way until it implodes with civil war and becomes a mess like the nearly all the rest of Africa which are on a knifes edge like Egypt at the opposite end of the Continent, though a major problem there is population growth as well as corruption. No doubt War for water is coming, but I veer from the subject in hand.

[@MrFoxxRaven]

@@ArdGeal-h6c the old adage goes "the grass always looks greener on the other side". Granted the UK is not perfect but listening to people in the UK complain always makes me giggle. You guys have no idea what it's really like to live in a failed state. You guys take so much for granted in the UK. Great weather is meaningless behind 20ft walls spiked with barbed wire and electric fences, no electricity and in some places no water, no access to tangible government support of any kind what so ever. Utilities that have not seen investment since the ANC took power. Infrastructure being stolen. Public coffers being looted. Extreme and frequent violent crime. No job opportunites for anyone who isnt politically connected. Aggressive "empowerment" policies that undermine south africas effectiveness. The list goes on. The UK is heaven compared to SA

[@coolbeans5911]

Loadshedding is utterly exhausting. You can't properly plan your day because everything revolves around the few hours you have access to power. It's especially difficult as an online student

[@byroncoetzee3173]

I live in South Africa, the best way to describe it is like a walking zombie. Looks like its operating but its long dead.

[@blartversenwaldiii]

do you think it will ever change?

[@truxton1000]

@@blartversenwaldiii It will change yes, the problems will just get bigger and more extreme.

[@derrickvanzyl6819]

Great reporting. Spot on analysis of what is happening in South Africa. Yet the same people, the masses, will keep on voting for the same party, laterally voting themselves and essentially all South Africans, 'out of power'. Einstein once said “Insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results.”

[@aritragupta4182]

Great pun on "out of power" 👍

[@scroopynooperz9051]

leaving a bunch of goat herders and freedom fighters with the reigns of power over a relatively advanced economy, was always going to be problematic. especially given the kinds of promises the ANC has made to the indigent for their political support. This situation was always going to come to a head. Socrates had one major critique of democracy. He argued that it could only work when the base populace was educated and understood the pitfalls of power and the functions of government, otherwise the electorate could fall prey to charming, self-serving political charlatans with no real interest in public service. His so called "sweet shop owner vs the doctor" thought experiment. Remarkably lucid thinking for a man who lived over 2000 years ago. To nurture a functioning democracy, there are some critical base requirements.

[@noncompliant4316]

The voted for stupid here in Australia and they voted for stupid in the USA (supposedly). It seems all over the west we have largely incompetent governments and lots of vultures descending on the countries to pick over the remains. Energy poverty (and corruption) will bite a lot more countries than South Africa during the next few years.

[@schlix101]

Yep, when you allow the uneducated masses, that are just being fed ANC and EFF B.S. day after day, to vote... If you REALLY want to make a country work, then you MUST start to let ONLY tax payers vote and work from there: Work to increase the tax base and provide an incentive for all to get to the point where they CAN pay tax and thus vote... Unfortunately, way to many people in SA are intentionally being kept dumb enough (thanks to the EFF and ANC), not to pay taxes and thus burn their perceived enemies (those who do pay tax), jet, in the process they burn themselves also! FFS! It's so frustrating to see!

[@17_wm]

the masses will keep on voting because the very same corrupt government provided them with basics services like clean running water, electricity and infrastructure in the rural areas and townships

[@paololuckyluke2854]

Before 1991, SA had never seen any power cuts.

[@tomsmith5488]

Yes, i cannot remember a power cut EVER. How i took all in this beautiful country for granted. Sad to say, but paradise has broken down.

[@JitzyJT]

Before 1991 white folks ran things

[@gregorymalchuk272]

There actually were a bunch of power cuts, mostly caused by the ANC planting limpet mines to blow up power pylons.

[@luyandachamane2093]

That’s because 70% of the population didn’t have access to electricity or running water

[@awebber37]

My dad works for Eskom and he told me back in the 90s Eskom produced so much power that they didn't know what to do with it so they would sell some. Country gained massively. Now 10-20 years later it is the complete opposite...

[@xCykz]

We should all pray for our country 🙏.

[@channysmith83]

Thank you for reporting this. I still have a lot of family in South Africa and they struggle every day and not just with loadshedding.

[@channysmith83]

@@N198h we have been sending money monthly.

[@janhemmer8181]

Not just loadshedding... But it will take the BBC another 10 years to dare adress those.

[@defeatSpace]

blame china

[@allanhutton1123]

Basically the problem is the ANC

[@mohsinjoe8617]

Vote DA!

[@davidblyth5495]

In 1992 a senior manager told a friend and I of Eskom's future scenarios - the low, medium and high road When told by Eskom the ANC regime under Mbeki, they ignored the advice. Having worked in government with senior ANC cadres, I often saw how expert engineering advice were dismissed. The recent Zondo commission of inquiry uncovered massive corruption by ANC cadres yet they have not been arrested because they have weakened the police and prosecution authorities! The current situation with electricity problem is simply one of many problems arising, The elephant in the room is water supply - without water, everything stops! The presenter's conclusion was incorrect - the current situation was caused by the ANC.

[@embreis2257]

so we have to wait a little longer until the water management is run into the ground too and the citizens are fed up enough to _not_ vote for the ANC anymore?

[@JGS123WRPTP]

I hear it’s all just a glorified cartel.

[@aktlr-qf2vt]

We wuzzz kaanzzz wakandaaaa

[@antonycatella5901]

I had similar conversations with friends from Eskom in the early 90s

[@Ann-l7x]

Water supply already affected in many areas. This is going to affect sanitation which will lead to a health crisis. ANC has lined up the dominoes....when electrcity falls the knock-on effect is going to unleash a humanitarian crisis that will make covid feel like a walk in the park.

[@KDean22]

AFRICA IS MARCHING BACKWARDS

[@vvv3449]

Corruption in our country is very high 😢

[@newstuff1107]

Oh yes, but can we really expect anything else from sub saharian Africa? No.

[@arlenespencer5850]

@vvv corruption in SA since 1994 is what killed SOUTH AFRICA.. nothing but unadulterated GREED & self service whilst their very own people are starving to death literally however please note the size of the all these anc comrades they must eat very very well... But the little African child in the township starves to death a VERY painful way to DIE... Thank You CancER it's not heartwarming to witness how you treat your own people but have much to say of apartheid... Hypocrites

[@thestream1]

@@newstuff1107 that sounds a bit extreme. Where are you from ?

[@jfkst1]

​@@thestream1 Extreme as in truthful.

[@marcv2648]

@@thestream1 Extreme? Everyone knows this. You think people were born yesterday?

[@Etienne-rf5wt]

THANK YOU FOR TALKING ABOUT THIS. SHAME ON THE ANC. I am literally sitting in loadshedding as I type this.

[@ryanvanrensburg6073]

Same here .

[@dnxsol]

Shame hoor, strekte kwagga

[@fredoosthuizen6]

Same here

[@manicmaggie]

So am I!

[@eethon1]

got yourself some solar panels, a battery and an Inverter. I'm afraid your going to have to save yourselves, you can't rely on your government.

[@Jemasepoesbru]

As a non-South African living in this country which is literally the most beautiful country on earth, this hurts. So many people in poverty and the government stealing money from its own citizens that keep voting for them, because they are not educated enough to make the right choice at the voting polls. On the other side, we can see the same happening in Western countries, but the most beautiful country on earth deserves better.

[@BAmalakas]

which western countries? I can't remember the last time the electricity went off (if ever)

[@Jemasepoesbru]

@@BAmalakas not going off, but energy-poverty is real in Western Europe. People decide to keep the lights off and even fridges and heating because otherwise they can’t pay for food.

[@Chiscassippi]

@@BAmalakas California

[@iamtheoffenderofall]

Let me ask a question....S. Africa....has cell phone service for most of its citizens? You say they arent educated enough. See, for generations, it was thought that people were stupid due to the lack of access to books and information. Here we are today with a compendium of human knowledge right there in your hand and we still have stupid people. We know now unequivocally that the its not the lack of access to information making people stupid. People are stupid. Plain and simple.

[@cryp4life509]

@@bluecheesehasmoldinit SA also has around twice as many people as Canada.

[@peterfenwick2540]

Another thing to consider is this. One company I know of is supplying 17 large generators a day to Cape Town alone at the moment. These are the big ones. The company I work for has just installed one of these. It has a huge price and because it is supplied from overseas this is large amounts of money leaving the country due to loadshedding!

[@michaelrunnels7660]

South Africa may revert back to a pre-industrialized society that cannot feed its own people. That's OK, though. The only thing that matters is that the government is run by people with black skin. The welfare of South Africa's citizens is relatively unimportant compared with that.

[@W_Bin]

No, the problem is that the Government is run by incompetent corrupt people with black skins. Clearly the citizens do not have the opportunity, or education, to form or appoint a government of capable and honest people with black skins. Not because they don't exist.

[@anthony64632]

They ignored to have constitutional sovereignty and use parliamentary sovereignty so BEE is illegal

[@mbusomkhwanazi48]

You oversimplify a very complex issue. The ANC government was put in place through a negotiation by the apartheid government and some black people within the ANC. Black people run highly successful companies in the Johannesburg Stock Exchange. Your comment suggests that the colour of their skin is what makes the ANC incompetent. It is far more complex than that. Look at who is funding the ANC and you will see who actually runs the economy and keeps the ANC in power.

[@adeniyiaderibigbe1381]

@@mbusomkhwanazi48 Lets stop deceiving ourselves, bro. The blacks are ruining South Africa.

[@lr6477]

​​@@mbusomkhwanazi48 nobody said skin causes this. Disingenuous argument. It's culture, the rotten upbringing, lack of ethics, lack of top performing people. Violence, aggression. Obsession with thug like entertainment, short term needs, no ability to delay gratification. Fatherless homes. No foresight. It seems to be a common denominator on this godforsaken continent. Even with Africans assimilated into USA they act this way. Obviously there are outliers such as yourself, but speaking generally the evidence is in the outcomes of these people. Blame is always laid elsewhere.

[@bethmckey2184]

In our small town, in the Karoo, the power outages of 10 hours a day mean the water reservoirs don’t have time to fill so, no water either.

[@VanillaMacaron551]

That's terrible.

[@joannebottcher9779]

Oh my Lord. Can't you prevent that? The Eastern Cape has areas ith no loadshedding due to water supply issues.

[@ehall5151]

Same in my part of Joburg, loadshedding turns off the water pumping stations and our water stops after a few hours.

[@Virtual1Puppy]

Similar problem in Polokwane.

[@thelizzleking]

This is also the case for many parts in Joburg and Tshwane, it's so horrible

[@ParaBellum2024]

What did South African people light their homes with, before they had candles? Electricity.

[@Professor_Stark]

I’m not sure, but I am certain that a small town in SA called Kimberley was the second place in the world after NY to EVER have electricity in the world. Yet we are in this situation today 😂

[@Wolf-hh4rv]

Back to mud huts , no wheel and animal skin clothing. A full circle in one century.

[@steppenwolf5064]

@@Professor_Stark Yea, and the first heart transplant. The problem is that the people who built and did those things are no longer running the country. The destroyers are now in control, and will now succeed in turning it into a more typical African country.

[@chinguunerdenebadrakh7022]

@@Professor_Stark was it a mining town?

[@davidboskett5581]

They are lowering their carbon emissions by using candles rather than burning dirty coal

[@theREMASTEREDone]

As a South African who's been living with since since i dont even know what age...this is hell Just so glad its being noticed properly world wide,this corruption needs to end

[@a1white]

These explainers are really excellent. Straight in with the facts no drama or excess

[@remiabrahams8623]

As a South African, it is really difficult accepting the current state of affairs. And it seems to only be getting worse.

[@nanoobis]

Duh. Have you been asleep for the last 30 years.

[@jnavonoD]

Man I love the South African accent. Left in 2011, to New Zealand. I miss that place, but not the ridiculous corruption, crime, etc.

[@siphotheguy1870]

I will frow you wiff a stone in amongst the eyes!

[@jasonhaven7170]

There is no South African accent. White Dutch/English people aren't even the most common accents. Zulu, Sotho, Tswana, they're far more common.

[@patdbean]

Well you know what they say:- AC stands for altinating current DC stands for direct current ANC stands for absolutly NO current!

[@Stxxbo]

Currently in South Africa and I'm watching this with the power off. 😭

[@darryllyle3528]

Well 60 million blacks will ALWAYS vote for them thing expecting different results. The definition of insanity. Country is finished. Whites built it, now destroyed

[@sclark9011]

When everyone was leaving New Zealand there was a saying...." last one out please switch off the lights" it seems in SA you don't have to....they are already off.

[@ruzicas.5819]

Oh my God. I have bought solar charger for my mobile phone and never used it. Now I understand in some parts of the world it can be really useful.

[@richtshepo]

Where I live Electricity can go for days, sometimes water

[@jadelyn171]

BEE (Black Economic Empowerment) appointing people that is not qualified

[@lindelwanothandongcobo8863]

What’s wrong with BEE they were disadvantaged for over 200 years

[@stamfordly6463]

The insistence that the ANC's interests and those of South Africa itself are the same is probably part of the problem. A party that never worries about losing office is going to be less and less useful the longer it clings on.

[@peterschmidt1453]

Just like old style communism, when you never leave power there is no need to be efficient, no need to be honest, no need to improve the lives of the citizens and the police or crime gangs will deal with anyone pointing out the problems.

[@jasonhaven7170]

There's simply no other parties for Black South Africans (who are the majority) to vote for. The EFF are Black Supremacists. The FF+ are White Supremacists. The DA only cares about middle/upper-class White/Coloured/Indian people. For the majority, the ANC are the only viable option.

[@ame-]

My mom has been in two minor accidents at the same big crossing due to sudden loadshedding cuts. It's really aggravating and it's been the same problem for YEARS

[@teresafisher7051]

Yes..absolutely shocking state o affairs..delaying answers to allll these problems...lying as to the absolute realities..re eye witnesses accounts.o stocking up the Putin's warship in December with armaments...they..like putin..adamently..refuse to change...pocketing..as u heard..millions upon millions...as in Putin...would be Heaven sent if NATO could step in....then would be as in a Waiting room..eg.. Ukraine...endless..rudderless...( Hope Serge you've electricity..let me know..lost contact)...Love South Africa...🎉🎉🎉🎉

[@jacobfinder7476]

Totally correct. SA is destroying itself. The most beautiful and diverse country on the continent. Corruption throughout all levels of government. Wildlife going extinct, 48% unemployment, the highest inequality in the world.

[@markanthony3275]

Not one country run by black people is worth living in.

[@DickCheneyXX]

Relax, it's just becoming a normal African country.

[@joriankell1983]

Diversity was the problem

[@steppenwolf5064]

@@DickCheneyXX Yea the worrying thing is that they are exporting their populations into Europe. We are being told that this is a good thing, but we all know in our hearts that hell is coming and they want everything we have.

[@ELVIR2]

@@DickCheneyXX this is why western cape needs independence

[@avilengroup7187]

This is what we deal with in nigeria on a daily basis. For the past 46yrs of my life I've never experienced uninterrupted power. I really hope south Africa tries to get it right before its too late

[@defeatSpace]

blame china

[@kmzzzzz]

Must be the white mans fault?

[@howard4510]

You have the same problem in oil rich Nigeria? Why

[@sirseravelele8868]

We'll get it right, at some point in we thought we got rid of it but we're working on it and yeah corruption is a problem but these are a few rotten people who have a very sophisticated web. There's a global reset going on and we're part of Brics we've been resilient trying to solve our problems and there's a negativity bias as well however through reasoning the future is bright and what we've quicky identified is we need more than one way to generate energy and I heard one minister publicly talking about that but media houses will try to discredit our efforts especially because SA is part of Brics and we have hope that we'll get it right, we young people are seeing these things we taking part in the future of our country and we other emerging countries as well will join and we'll help one another address issues we have in our countries and I hope especially Nigeria here in Africa. Yes there is loading shedding in my country, there is corruption yes but we're bigger than that and our resilience will lead us to better days and a brighter future

[@EvwienureEjowokeoghene]

You be old mugu wetin concern Nigeria for south Africa matter

[@sheeshyouguys]

It’s been happening for half my life and I’m 32 this year. As I write this, I havent had electricity since 2pm yesterday so that has been 18 hours now.

[@reecevanwyk2579]

Not me getting an Eskom ad before watching this video😭😭

[@parkerholden7140]

Having worked six years in East Africa I can say that corruption is part of the culture in many African countries. What is not understood is that corruption destroys the organization that provides the opportunity for the corruption in the first place. The reason is complex but centers on a almost total lack of knowledge of organizational behavior. Most major achievements are the result of an organization, not of an individual!

[@mikemuponda1781]

You put it so well, this is the thing that is so difficult to explain to other fellow africans

[@johnl5350]

The ANC will learn that lesson the hard way when the grid completely collapses. They poisoned the man brought in to help organize a solution to the mess for shid's sake. He left because he was poisoned in the executive suite he was based out of, by someone ostensibly there to help solve the problem. They seem beyond hope really. Part of me would like to see the West help. One thing though is the ANC would reject it until a total collapse, then it'd be racism if help didn't come. Second it'd literally be enabling this idiocracy type corruption, where essentially morons are in control with no understanding or concern for how anything works, any sort of maintenance or innovation. It's just a lever of power for them and a cash cow. My point is the change has to be internal to SA. If it isn't, the core problem here will persist, just like in Afghanistan where all that effort and money just went to the taliban in the end, and we need to have learned a lesson from that.

[@stevepowsinger733]

As an American, I feel sorry for the decent respectable citizens of SA. As long as you have freedom of press there is some hope that reform is possible.

[@samanlbj]

It's very sad to see this happening in a country with lots of potential and resources. I worked in this Rainbow Nation for 8 years as an expatriate in ESCOM HYDRO PROJECT KZN.(2009-2016)There were never power cuts during my stay. Unfortunately, corruption spread massively, and lack of Leadership. without a proper energy supply, no country can go forward.

[@KDean22]

THE MAIN REASON IS LOW INTELLIGENCE

[@khaleel96]

I'm a South African and it's very sad what is happening to our country I get up in the morning ready to go to work the power is off then coming from work arrive at home the power is off the frustration is at boiling point 4 hours a session there is no electricity & our winter is still coming 😢

[@denak8200]

Your people betrayed the white man and now you shall know what it is like to freeze in the cold and scorch in the sun.

[@ridgemondhigh4891]

Power and electricity are irrelevant. The most important thing is to wear the _finest_ European (or Chinese) tailored suits, win Miss University pageants and have lots of children.

[@JeffCaplan313]

​@@ridgemondhigh4891😂😭

[@TheTrickshot77]

​@@ridgemondhigh4891 without electricity, how will they charge their iPhones?

[@WellLane]

U voted for the thief ramaposa enjoy it

[@mikethomas1866]

....but the people will still vote for the ANc.....you gets the government you deserve

[@tennysonpillay0204]

We are suffering in south africa ,no jobs,no food,no houses, crime is high

[@misty_mouse987]

I'm from a part of SA where hundreds of trucks carrying coal can be seen travelling to Mozambique to be sold every day...and what makes it worse is SA sells electricity to it's neighbouring countries, never not fulfilling their quotas 😢

[@everyone1liesd459]

Because that's your key export you have nothing else to give Would you rather have full time electricity and barely empty food shelves or 8 hours of electricity and proper access to food Your country is way too much what is it like 60 million 30 million of which who don't work? I just hope south Africans stay in south africa we don't want over population in our country

[@tshepangsefume9281]

For years the ANC government has been giving us promises only to not fulfil them and as a results we are suffering the full brunt of the government's past actions. I say the only solution is for ANC to be removed permanently and it only possible if the youth of South Africa can participate in the upcoming elections by simply voting

[@embreis2257]

they voters need to actually tick other boxes than the ANC - but how high is the chance of that happening?

[@dannyarcher6370]

Enjoy your ANC/EFF government then.

[@DickCheneyXX]

For years you have been voting them in.

[@antonhuman8446]

And a comment of a person of colour. Possibly a former supporter of the ANC. Quite a shocking mess!

[@higreentj]

Using our phones for voting would make voting easier. Democracy vouchers would combat corruption.

[@finnthirud]

I applaud BBC News for having the courage to bring this story forward 👏

[@NicholasWilliams-x5c]

In America, we harvest the personal data & intellectual property of africans, to dominate their markets haha ☺ The US Dollar Greater than Africa 😃

[@briantrend7401]

BBC were big about the great 🌈 rainbow nation but then quiet when it didn't quite go their way. I live in the UK I wouldn't trust the lefty fake bbc nor does half the UK

[@sideman7117]

I’m surprised it took this long. I was there in 2007 and could tell a difference just with the inefficiencies of South African Airways, which was once a top notch airline. That was just the tip of the iceberg.

[@african-history-fountain]

Yeah...That old apartheid system. They shoulda never left it. Best to have kept things as they were....(eye roll and out). Oh, by the way, South African Airways was NEVER a ''top notch airline''. It had a history of crashes dating back to 1958 under apartheid, and even when it DID fly without dropping off the sky, 4/5ths of the world wouldn't let them fly over their air space because of the satanic apartheid system you practiced, something you seem to retain some fondness for, which is quite chilling.

[@nanoobis]

SAA has long since become the personal taxi service of our honourable politicians. Funded by the shrinking middle class and emigrating rich.

[@cobussmith8864]

ANC, the cause!