With so many things going to pieces all around the world these days, it can be difficult to keep track of them all. Particularly when so much of the global news media’s attention is riveted on the war in Ukraine, other things can slip through the cracks. For example, were you aware that the government of South Africa has basically collapsed? And it happened fairly quickly. Take a look at this lengthy Twitter thread from someone who actually lives there. The government and the police have almost disappeared, the energy grid has imploded, half of the people in the country are out of work and the nation’s infrastructure has crumbled.

1. South Africa has collapsed. US embassy is now informing international travellers to stock up (prepper style) on food and water. https://t.co/WLfG88D0Uj

— #zombieland (@k9_reaper) February 26, 2023

The Twitter user above wasn’t exaggerating according to the various news outlets that have bothered to cover the story. The country’s railway system has all but ground to a halt. (The Economist)

Another South African firm stumbling towards collapse may be even more systemically important, since it affects not just its home country but the wider region. Transnet, which runs the railways, ports and pipelines that connect sub-Saharan Africa’s most industrial economy with the outside world, is in deep trouble. Like Eskom, it was badly managed by hacks “deployed” by the ruling party and then pillaged through corrupt contracts, many signed during the era of “state capture” under Jacob Zuma, a former president. Now, weighed down by debt and with hundreds of broken locomotives, it cannot keep all of its freight trains running.

It’s not just the trains and the rest of the transportation infrastructure that has fallen apart. The country’s power grid has fallen well below the break-even point of energy generation and consumption. Rolling blackouts happen every day and much of the country is left without lights or heat. The roads are impassible in many areas and there is no money to repair them.

In light of the unsustainable stages of load shedding, key industries within South Africa’s business sectors have been preparing for a total grid collapse to keep staff safe and services running, reported the Sunday Times.

While The South African Reserve Bank (SARB) stressed that it is unlikely that a regional or national grid failure could occur, higher and longer stages of load shedding have sparked fears among industries such as the telecom, retail, mining and financial services sectors – with many executing scenario planning in case of a total grid collapse.

The number of people in South Africa relying on government grants and welfare is about to exceed the number of working people paying taxes. In the absence of a properly funded and staffed police force in many parts of the country, looting and violence have become commonplace. Because of what has been described as “an anti-entrepreneurial and anti-wealth creation environment” fostered by the government, hopeless people have taken to stealing whatever they can. And gang violence has grown significantly as a result.

So how did all of this happen? There were a variety of factors involved, including government corruption and organized crime. But a couple of years ago, in order to stay in the good graces of the world banks and the global climate cabal, South Africa agreed to ambitiously reduce its carbon footprint. They used to mine a lot of coal and other desirable resources, but their output has plummeted. Don’t worry, though. They’ve blown some serious money on renewable energy. You can see how swimmingly that’s working out.

Does any of this sound familiar? Do you recall when America’s supply chain buckled when our own transportation infrastructure tanked and cargo ships were lined up at the ports for weeks? We too have seen rolling blackouts in multiple parts of the country as we rush to forbid the use of fossil fuels and toss up endless numbers of solar and wind generation plants. And it’s not as if we haven’t seen our fair share of rioting.

It really doesn’t take that much of a shove to cause a formerly muscular infrastructure to grind to a halt. South Africa is on the verge of societal failure. And if you think it couldn’t happen in the United States, you’re kidding yourself.