South Africa: power struggle...

It's winter in South Africa. And cold. Rolling blackouts are a daily occurrence. Young or old, rich or poor, black or white, honest or corrupt -- unless you have a well-maintained power generator -- millions are vulnerable to Eskom's loadshedding schedules. Whether you live in the townships or a gated community, the power can go out for a few hours, sometimes all day. Since the end of apartheid in 1994 there's not been sufficient maintenance or upgrades to the state-owned power supply system. If the grid (95% of which is controlled by Eskom) collapses, as many predict is an inevitability, it could be weeks before power is restored.

Massive amounts of electricity is required, for example, to extract 0.197 gram of gold for every 1 ton of mining waste. While illegal and deadly gold mining is rampant, there's coal enough to heat homes, but not before the mine companies go through bureaucratic hurdles regarding black ownership. Zuma's recent use of public funds for a R246-million renovation of his home compound Nkandla are not helping public perception that the situation will improve any time soon.

Some blame these power woes on the African National Congress' B-BBEE program which seeks "...to address the restrictions that exist within the country for Black individuals to participate fairly in the economy."....

Mining companies, which produce 60% of South Africa's exports, use 15% of the country's power, delicately striving to maintain the balance of give and take. By July 2015, electric prices will have increased by 26% this year alone. (Edit: this plan was rejected a day after this article was written.) Stagflation, Zuma's land redistribution program, murdered Marikana mine workers, anti-immigrant violence,...all the troubles of the land can't diminish the amazing natural beauty of this remarkable country.