Ironically, since Mtuseni has no electricity, this is one issue that won’t affect him — at least directly. But the utility is proposing 8 percent annual increases in electricity rates… for the next five years?! Meanwhile, in the US the price of electricity is dropping.

I understand SA needs to improve the country’s electric infrastructure, but for millions of residents who are just barely scraping by today, can they afford a 40 percent increase in rates over the next few years? Could we afford similar increases in the US?

The headwinds facing South Africa’s poor never seem to end…