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South Africa: A jobs blackout?

29 Jan 2008

Production in most South African mines - which include some of the world's biggest producers of gold and platinum and are the backbone of the country's economy - has been brought to a halt by recurrent power outages, sparking concerns over possible job losses.

Industries have been hit hard by the frequent power outages. (Image: Daimler Chrysler SA)

"The mining industry is losing about R300 million [about US$42 million] a day as a result of the shutdown," said Mike Schussler, a leading South African economist. He warned that the stoppage had already begun to slow the economy, which would have a long-term impact on government's goal to halve unemployment and poverty by 2014.

The mines were forced to cease operating when the country's power utility, Eskom - still unable to keep up with demand after two weeks of nationwide rolling blackouts - asked its industrial customers to cut their power consumption by 10 percent.

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