Economics
South Africa Blackouts May Cut Growth Close to Zero, Central Bank Says
- State-capture damage is worse than previously thought
- Continued blackouts could jeopardize 125,000 jobs, bank says
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South Africa’s power cuts could bring economic growth for the year close to zero if they continue at the same severity seen in March, the central bank said.
The wave of rolling blackouts that started in November and are among the worst the country has yet experienced could knock 1.1 percentage point off economic growth, the Reserve Bank said in its Monetary Policy Review released Wednesday in Pretoria, the capital. Expansion of close to zero would be the worst outcome since 2009, when former President Jacob Zuma came to power.