Assessing the Energy Crisis in South Africa: The Socio-Economic Implication and Challenges Ahead
Kazeem Oyedele Lamidi 
& Lusanda Beauty Juta
Issue: Vol.5 No.4 Issue Article 12 pp.508-517
DOI: https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20245412 | Published online 19th April, 2024
© 2024 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
This paper examined the socio-economic implications caused by the current energy crisis South Africa is facing. Although the crisis is not at its worst stage when compared to other countries in Africa, there are still challenges ahead if the crisis at this stage is not nipped in the bud. This paper aims at providing an overview of the energy crisis and reasons for its persistence in South Africa taking a departure from 2007. It thus examined the effect of the energy crisis on human livelihood, manufacturing businesses and the economic growth of South Africans. It discussed the concerted efforts made by the government in terms of policy intervention to solve the energy crisis, vis-à-vis policy successes and the challenges in South Africa. Using secondary data sources, this paper analysed the problems behind the energy crisis and its persistent nature in South Africa. It reviewed the extant literature intending to showcase government activities in terms of policies and actions toward subduing the energy crisis in South Africa. It also underlined the strengths and the weaknesses of government policies on the energy crisis in South Africa. This paper found that population expansions and ever-increasing human activities constitute major reasons for the persistent energy crisis in South Africa. This paper concluded that the energy crisis in South Africa may continue to take its negative recourse on the people and economy if adequate attention is not being paid to alternative energy sources at provincial and municipal levels. The attention should aim at complementing the existing energy infrastructure as well as accommodating the energy needs of the population and ever-increasing human activities. This study contributes to the existing debate on securing energy transition in the developing economy of South Africa.
Keywords: Energy Crisis, South Africa Government, Policy, Socio-economic Implications.
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Kazeem Oyedele Lamidi is a post-doctoral fellow at the Department of Public Administration and Local Government, School of Government Studies, Faculty of Humanities, North West University, South Africa. He holds a Ph.D. degree in Public Administration from the Obafemi Awolowo University, Nigeria. He is a Senior Lecturer in the Department of Local Government and Development Studies at the University.
Lusanda Beauty Juta is a Deputy-Director, School of Government Studies, Faculty of Humanities, North West University, Mahikeng Campus, South Africa.
Lamidi, Kazeem Oyedele and Lusanda Beauty Juta. “Assessing the Energy Crisis in South Africa: The Socio-Economic Implication and Challenges Ahead,” E-Journal of Humanities, Arts and Social Sciences 5, no.4 (2024): 508-517. https://doi.org/10.38159/ehass.20245412
© 2024 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
