2019年经济学人 南非新任总统是否能带来光亮时刻(1)（在线收听）

South Africa

南非

Light-bulb moment

开灯时刻

Cyril Ramaphosa has made a good start. But to beat corruption, he must relax state control of business 

西里尔·拉马福萨开了个好头。但是要打击腐败，他必须放松国家对企业的控制

Eskom, South Africa’s state-owned electricity monopoly, is in crisis. So said Cyril Ramaphosa, the country’s president, in his annual “state of the nation” speech on February 7th. He was not exaggerating. Four days later cities were plunged into darkness as South Africa endured its biggest blackout ever. Some 40%of its total capacity was switchedoff, forcing mines and factories to close and all but the wealthiest to reach for candles. It was an undignified end to Mr Ramaphosa’s first year in office

南非国家电力公司Eskom正处于危机之中。国家主席西里尔·拉马福萨在2月7日的年度“国家状态”演讲中表示。他没有夸大其词。四天后，南非遭遇了有史以来最严重的停电，城市陷入一片黑暗。大约40%的总产能被关闭，矿山和工厂迫使被关闭，除了富翁以外，所有人都去买蜡烛。拉马福萨第一年任期就这样不圆满地结束了。

plunge into 使突然陷入; 突然陷入

The government's political and economic reforms threaten to plunge the country into chaos.

该政府的政治和经济改革有可能使这个国家陷入混乱之中。

South Africans had grown used to power cuts under his predecessor, Jacob Zuma, whose cronies looted and mismanaged nearly everything the state controls. Mr Zuma hollowed out institutions, appointed crooks and liars to senior jobs and ensured that the watchdogs who are supposed to stop corruption were muzzled. Some state-owned firms, such as Eskom and South African Airways, were bled so dry that their debts threaten the stability of South African banks and even the country’s credit rating. South Africans expect better from Mr Ramaphosa. Will he live up to his promises?

在上任总统雅各布?祖玛的领导下，南非人已经习惯了停电。祖玛的亲信几乎掠夺和霸权所有国有机构。祖马掏空了机构，任命骗子和说谎者担任高级职位，并让那些本应阻止腐败的监管机构受到钳制。一些国有企业，如Eskom和南非航空公司，由于血本无归，其债务威胁到南非银行的稳定，甚至该国的信用评级。而南非人对拉马福萨期望更高。他会履行诺言吗?

He has made a good start, cleaning out the boards of state-owned companies and appointing watchdogs with teeth and the inclination to use them. Shamila Batohi, a tough lawyer from the International Criminal Court in The Hague, recently started work as the country’s chief prosecutor. A judicial commission into allegations of “state capture” under Mr Zuma has heard riveting testimony about how firm sallegedly funnelled cash to politicians for state contracts. One minister’s daughter was said to have crashed so many freebie sports cars that she was offered driving lessons, too.

他已经开了个好头，洗牌国有企业董事会，任命有能力、愿意效力的监管机构。来自海牙国际刑事法院的强硬律师萨米拉·巴托依最近开始担任该国首席检察官。祖马领导下的一个调查“国家俘获”指控的司法委员会听取了很有信服力的证词，内容坚定认为国家合同向政客们输送现金。据说，一位部长的女儿撞坏了很多免费的跑车，以至于被迫上了驾驶课。