ngl, I never expected to see a cohesive plan to solve the transmission crisis under a Ramaphosa administration… To get this far in half the time it took State Capture to bleed the coffers dry is a helluva achievement. Now for the implementation.
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What do you think are the biggest obstacles here, Lindsey? Do we have the skills and expertise locally to pull this off? I have an engineer friend working in this space and they are working around the clock because they can’t find enough engineers to do all the work.
That’s why Ramokgopa was so keen to open the door for private industry. He is a trained civil engineer and is quick to point out that we lack the skills. It’s a longterm project with the foundation for STEM skills being laid in primary school level. Each economic zone (COEGA, etc) has an important role to play in delivering the required trade skills which can then be leveraged by contractors. A major concern of mine is the rising costs of steel, carbon footprint of concrete, and competitive market for Copper where South Africa is losing out on the current rush in Zambia and the DRC. Securing robust supply chains and fixing the logistics corridors are the next mountains we need to climb - but even in that there is promising policymaking from Creecy, at least, less so from Tau, to address those concerns.
As someone who is busy getting quotes to replace the roof of my house, I can attest to the exorbitant cost of steel right now. 
It’s heartening that Ramokgopa is realistic about the challenges and putting the right building blocks in place. I couldn’t imagine something like this being done five years ago.
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