The country has seen 170 days of rolling blackouts this year, hitting corporate productivity and hurting investor sentiment.
South Africa's unreliable power supply and high level of government debt are two of the main risks to its financial stability, the South African Reserve Bank said on Tuesday.
Africa's most developed economy has seen 170 days of rolling blackouts this year due to a maintenance backlog at state utility Eskom's ageing coal-fired power plants. This has not only hit corporate productivity but also hurt investor sentiment, the South African Reserve Bank said in its biannual health check of the financial system.
“Insufficient and unreliable electricity supply is likely to threaten the viability of some corporates, especially small and medium-sized enterprises,” it said, adding this could spill over into the financial sector. The country's gross sovereign debt is more than two-thirds of GDP and government intends to take on R400bn of Eskom's debt, increasing its burden.
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