The secretary general of South Africa’s ruling African National Congress Party (ANC), Fikile Mbalula has decried the worsening energy crisis in the country, saying the country could become a failed state if issues were not resolved amicably.
Mbalula in an exclusive interview with Stephen Sackur for the BBC’s Hardtalk programme said incessant blackouts may cripple the economy.
“If certain things are not resolved, we will become a failed state, but we are not journeying towards that direction”.
He added that while the situation has been impacted by global economic meltdown, Covid-19, and war in Ukraine, the blame also lay on “some of our own weaknesses in terms of managing the economy well,” he explained.
In spite of the challenging economic situation and increasing unemployment, the country “is recovering well,” Mbalula said.
Mbalula defended the ANC’s economic record after almost three decades in power, adding that the government had cushioned “our people from the worst, after a legacy of 300 years of deprivation and a mismanaged country and economy”.
He acknowledged that the ongoing power cuts, known as “load shedding,” caused country’s problems. It will impact ANC’s electoral prospects next year if not resolved.
