South Africa: Eskom, a Slow-Moving Train Wreck

The South African government, it seems, loves policy-making space and resists anything that would constrain this space. It is therefore a pity that very little policy, good or bad, gets to be implemented. Part of the problem is the top-down approach to policy-making. It means that while we get a never-ending supply of policy documents, too little consideration is given to "the facts on the ground".

Not paying attention to practical implementation makes us vulnerable to poor ideas such as pursuing a nuclear build programme that keeps returning, zombie-like. A recent contribution by Rob Turrell using advice given to the Minister of Science and Technology by the respected National Advisory Council on Innovation (NACI) shows that practically speaking, South Africa simply does not remotely have the capacity to participate meaningfully in any nuclear programme.

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