I know a couple of things about going on holiday in South Africa. One of them is that we have some of the most gob-smackingly lekker terrain, from Karoo to coast and the forests of the Eastern Cape and Knysna and KwaZulu Natal in between. But more than that, our hospitality and just plain good value combine to make South Africa a great destination for overseas visitors.

So, when I came across this report from Lonely Planet and via GoTravel, it came as little surprise that South Africa was rated as a 'best value' destination. Very naaaice, I tell you.

While we are, as you know, in the business of putting a shine on the good stuff that we have in our country, and there is a good deal of that, there also comes a time where common sense has to prevail. By that I mean this rather astounding article, in which the author attempts to make a case for the advantages we are likely to gain as a result of the over 300% increases in energy proposed by Eskom.

Now, while the author's intentions are no doubt noble, it is very, very hard to follow the logic of how higher cost electricity is good for us. I met with a man recently who deals with assessing risk for large businesses. Those in mining and beneficiation depend rather heavily on electricity...the increases pose such a risk that many operations, which are marginally profitable as we stand now, see the energy increases as a massive threat to their very survival.

Mining may make up only 3% of the country's economy, but it sure does employ a lot of people. And it is not alone in its consumption of energy as a necessity for production.

On top of that, let's also remember that Eskom is building massive new coal-fired power stations to meet increased demand and to continue lighting up neighbouring countries; this despite the fact that the parastatal also has 'mothballed' existing power stations, built in a time when people planned well into the future. Commissioning these facilities will not result in any discernable benefit to the environment. Rather, the opposite effect is likely.

Thing is, we may have to accept higher electricity prices as an inevitability. But let's not fool ourselves with spurious justifications, either. The answer to the problems we face as a nation will not come from ignoring them or explaining them away with blind optimism, but rather by confronting and critically analysing them.