South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday declared a national state of disaster over crippling power shortages in the country, reported Reuters.
In his annual State of the Nation Address to parliament on Thursday, President Ramaphosa said the crisis posed an existential threat to the country’s economy and social fabric.
“We are in the grip of a profound energy crisis,” the South African president said.
He said the power crisis is affecting every part of society and that it is high time that the government acts to lessen the impact of the crisis on farmers, small businesses, on the country’s water infrastructure and transport network.
The announcement comes as power cuts of up to eight hours per day are being faced by homes, factories and businesses across the nation of 60 million.
The state of disaster is an emergency measure that was previously implemented to deal with the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020 and the deadly floods that killed more than 400 people last year.
According to Ramaphosa, the declaration will enable his government to exempt essential services like water treatment plants and hospitals from power blackouts and allow the government to purchase additional power on an emergency basis from other neighboring countries.
The declaration will also enable the government to assist businesses to deal with the effects of widespread power cuts, including making diesel-powered generators and solar panels more widely available.
The country’s power utility Eskom is not in a condition to generate adequate power due to frequent breakdowns at its old coal-fired power stations and years of corruption.
Ramaphosa also announced that a minister of electricity will be appointed soon who will be fully responsible for overseeing all aspects of the electricity crisis response, including the work of the National Energy Crisis Committee.
The South African president is expected to reshuffle his cabinet following the resignation of Deputy President David Mabuza and changes in the leadership of the ruling African National Congress party.
