Economy Growth?

[Robin Hood]

Im a bit curious...Accordingly to Alex Duhwin the electricity deminished due to economy growth. What economy growth? Were there a lot of new mines opening under BEE?...Were there any BIG installations that you guys know about, or was most of the businesses just "taken over" by BEE...

[Moederloos]

Economy has grown at 4% or so - whether that is fudged who knows.
Personally I believe the "growth" has been fueled on the back of a crumbling economy.
Borrowing from 2008 to fuel 1994-2007 growth.
Money that should have been spent on infrastructure, was spent on "growth".


A bit like living the high life off a credit card - sooner or later it is maxed out, and then the pooh bear enters the woods.

[Robin Hood]

A bit like living the high life off a credit card - sooner or later it is maxed out, and then the pooh bear enters the woods.

mmm...ok...i see your point....thx :)

[VanZan]

Economic 'growth' has been actively promoted by the government in the 'fight against poverty' and also used to substantiate their 'success' in the political arena, therefore they should have known that the demand for electricity will at least also grow on par with the economic growth. And by just looking at the international picture, they should have learned from the problems that other countries experienced in this regard, and not fall into the same trap!! How can this now be used as an excuse for the problem? It actually demonstrate their incompetence and ignorance be actively promoting one activity and not planning the supporting aspects.

[Moederloos]

One of the biggest expenses in "growth" is infrastructure. Especially from guavamints pocket.
If a large house in Sandton is demolished and a block of flats with 200 units built in its place, the cost of that is paid by the developers, and then, in turn, by the buyers of the units.
This process creates jobs, and the entire process is "growth". Guavamint has contributed almost zero to this venture.

The real money in this project is the infrastructure. Can the roads support an additional 199 families (NO), can the sewage support them (NO), can the electricity grid support them (NO), can the water supply support them (NO).

This so called "growth" is a fallacy. And we are now starting to see that.

[Ozymandias]

Sounds like a false economy. My limited understanding of ecomomics leads me to believe that growth can be misleading if it is not a result of increased productivity. A consumer led economic boom might be a direct result of more cash in one's pocket but it could be masking underlying inefficiencies within the economy. It could be a bubble waiting to burst.

[Robin Hood]

This so called "growth" is a fallacy. And we are now starting to see that.

This is exactly what i thought...thats why i asked the question as this doesnt make sense at all :(

[Milano]

That is just the story gov made up to "look good" due to poorly thought out BEE deals that really caused the power crisis. They could do a better job of lying.