And along came Eskom

WITH the rand being one of the sickest currencies in the world, and the drought ravaging South Africa one of the worst on record, the stage is set for rising inflation and soaring food prices.

Economists may point to such macro-economic factors in academic terms, but a visit to the Joburg fresh produce market undertaken by a team from The Star puts a more human, and frightening, face on the unfolding crisis.

Already, the hike in food prices is sobering. For example since September the price of a 10kg bag of potatoes has gone from R30 to R80. Lettuce from R20 a head to R30; pumpkins up from R80 a bag to R180, etc, etc.

And this is before the effects of the perfect storm of inflationary factors really starts to bite.

As always, it is the poor who will suffer most, but the rising cost of living is set to hit all but the rich very hard.

The middle classes have long been under the cosh from such price hikes too, as well as “administrative” rises such as municipal charges, interest rates, fuel levies and last year a personal tax hike.

And now, just to add to the misery, along comes Eskom. Not content with massive rises since it was unable to keep the lights on in the power crisis of 2008/9, the power utility wants a 16.6 percent increase in the cost of electricity from April to make up for the money it overspent last year.

Now what business could survive with such a business model – this year’s customers must pay for last year’s customers who did not spend as much as the corporation expected?

Hardly surprising, considering that businesses and households have heeded calls to cut back on their consumption, most likely more as a matter of trying to protect their bank accounts rather than heeding calls to use less in the national interest.

Droughts and currency crises come and go, but we are stuck with Eskom for good.

Now the fix-it spotlight must be turned on how to fund this national disgrace without bankrupting its customers.