On 29 May a general election is due to take place in South Africa, which will see a government frequently accused of corruption, scandal and mismanagement fighting to stay in power.
The ruling ANC (African National Congress) is pipped to lose its outright majority for the first since the party came into power in 1994, which is likely to trigger major change, whatever the outcome.
During its 30 year-tenure, the ANC has been widely criticised for its handling of public services. In particular, three years of electricity black-outs across the country, caused by a serious lack of investment, has caused untold problems for South Africa’s winemakers, which rely on energy to power their wineries and equipment.
At times, wine producers have been forced to shut off their power supply for certain hours according to a set schedule, which has impacted irrigation and contributed to South Africa seeing a 14.2% drop in yield for its 2023 harvest.
“The infrastructure has crumbled,” Siobhan Thompson, CEO, Wines of South Africa, tells the drinks business in an exclusive interview.
The upshot of the blackouts, says Thompson, is that they have forced residents, including wine producers, into “self-generation”, with solar energy becoming more widespread “for those who can afford it”.
However, just as frustrating for the country’s winemakers are the issues affecting the Port of Cape Town, which at times have slowed the pace of wine exports to a dribble.
According to Thompson, a lack of investment in the cranes required to lift large freight containers on board ships, among myriad other failings, has caused wine shipments to back up. Compounding this is an ongoing battle between the wine trade and the fruit industry for time slots and space on ships.
“The bottleneck started around Covid time, and I don’t think we’ve got out of that yet,” Thompson says.
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