5. SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT CHALLENGES IN SOUTH AFRICA

Challenges of Sustainable development like in any other country are also faced in South Africa.
At the moment we are facing a major crisis in the electricity department where demand of electricity has exceeded what South Africa can supply.

Numerous interventions have been implemented by South Africa but it does not seem that those were enough. Some of the challenges may be seen below:

 “A target of 10 000 GWh” of contribution of renewable energy contribution to energy consumption by year 2013 (The White Paper policy, 2003). The challenge is that the policy did not specify the percentage target credited to municipalities and other sectors and therefore municipalities and other sectors …show more content…
Agriculture is one of the economic drivers. An increase in production means an increase in economic growth and also guarantees food security and employment opportunities as agricultural production has decreased. 23% of agricultural land is degraded (International Assessment of Agricultural Knowledge,
Science and Technology for Development, 2009) and therefore reduction in harvest and an increase in job losses.

Climate change also has an impact on the Construction industries which also contribute to the economic growth of the country. Weather patterns have made it almost impossible to predict weather, for an example, the prediction of how much rainfall we can expect cannot be verified as weather patterns have changed. That could lead to flooding that may impact negatively on businesses and human settlements. Warnings of such disasters cannot be conveyed in time so as to prepare businesses and people of a disaster that is about to occur.

6.2 Environmental Sustainability

Veld fires that have occurred in the Western Cape due to high temperatures in the past few weeks resulted in the degradation of the eco-system. Wild life was threatened and small animals and plants were …show more content…
A study by Seekings and Natrass however concludes that South African policies do not adequately protect these communities. They emphasize that government has favoured a growth path that entails rising productivity, wages and profits for workers and firms in the formal sector.

An example of such confusion in government policies relates to the rollout of gas in Khayelitsha in the Western Cape. People’s electricity stoves were changed to gas stoves. The problem was that the cost of gas then skyrocketed hence people could not afford to buy gas but had the equipment. The government proposal to regulate the price of gas was opposed and stopped by the Competition Commission. Even though Government would try to assist, its own structures would be barriers to that.

With the reasons stated above, I feel that South Africa’s responses are not appropriate and I would propose the