Leaders | Arresting development

South Africa’s collapsing railway company is a cautionary tale

A “developmental state” is less useful than keeping the lights on and trains running

The locomotive of a Transnet SOC Ltd. freight train transports wagons of coal from the Mafube open-cast coal mine, operated by Exxaro Resources Ltd. and Thungela Resources Ltd., towards Richard's Bay coal terminal, in Mpumalanga, South Africa on Thursday, Sept. 29, 2022. South Africa relies on coal to generate more than 80% of its electricity, and has been subjected to intermittent outages since 2008 because state utility Eskom Holdings SOC Ltd. can't meet demand from its old and poorly maintained plants. Photographer: Waldo Swiegers/Bloomberg via Getty Images
Image: Getty Images

The global financial crisis of 2007-09 showed that huge bombs had been placed in the rich world’s banking systems and capital markets. If one blew up, as Lehman Brothers did, it could send a blast wave through the rest of the economy.

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This article appeared in the Leaders section of the print edition under the headline “Arresting development”

From the January 21st 2023 edition

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