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This week on Moneyweb@Midday, South Africa\u2019s economic and structural challenges were in sharp focus as experts discussed risks building beneath the headlines \u2013 from failing water systems to global trade shifts and investor recalibration at Davos.<\/p>\n
Risk specialist Volker von Widdern, speaking on the growing strain in South Africa\u2019s water network, warned that the country\u2019s infrastructure is under simultaneous stress from drought, flooding and decaying treatment plants, with little visibility before sudden failure.<\/p>\n
He described a system where bulk supplies can abruptly cut off or require major repairs without advance warning, a situation he attributed to decades of underinvestment, poor maintenance, and reactive planning rather than proactive risk management.<\/p>\n
Von Widdern stressed that climate change exacerbates these fragilities, with silting dams and overwhelmed stormwater systems compounding shortages in Johannesburg and flood risks in Limpopo, pointing to a wider need for strategic investment and resilience planning.<\/p>\n