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Johannesburg - The new head of Business Unity South Africa (BUSA) said on Wednesday he was "quite happy" about the country's electricity crisis, despite the power cuts and disruption, as it will result in needed change.
After being named the new president of BUSA, Brian Molefe said the problems were a "blessing" in disguise that would force policy changes and greater reliance on alternative sources of energy.
"We must place the environment first. I'm quite happy that we are being forced to think about the environment, that there is a temporary discomfort that forces us to think differently about how we do things," he told AFP.
South Africa's electricity crisis began in January and has cut production at gold mines and delayed large construction projects.
Johannesburg has been particularly badly hit, with frequent power cuts afflicting residents for several hours nearly every day even though a programme of load-shedding has been suspended since last week.
Molefe, chief executive of the Public Investment Corporation, a state-run investment group, said the problems would encourage energy efficiency and investment in solar power.
The electricity shortages have been caused by underinvestment in new production capacity by state-run Eskom and are extremely embarrassing for the government.
Turning to the election crisis in neighbouring Zimbabwe, Molefe said he did not expect any economic impact on South Africa.
"Damage to the South African economy is very minimal. It is only if there is a full-scale civil war and violence that the impact in South Africa would be felt more," he told AFP.
Molefe was named as the new president of BUSA on Wednesday. He took over from Patrice Motsepe, a mining magnate and the country's first black billionaire.
- AFP