Load shedding as a result of failures at the political-technological interface

Abstract

Significance: In effective developmental states, technocrats are ‘embedded’ in the political system with sufficient autonomy to  undertake their tasks. South Africa’s current electricity crisis is attributed here, in part, to an initial mistrust between the country’s new  political leadership and its ‘old-order’ technocrats following the political transition of 1994. This trust deficit led to policy missteps in the  development of new electricity generation. The impact of these missteps was compounded by the adoption of a risky, politically driven,  project management strategy. The outcome was not just substantial cost increases but the project delays that resulted in the current  ‘load shedding’.