Cyril Ramaphosa addressed parliamentarians in Cape Town on Thursday, February 9, on the occasion of his annual address on the state of the nation. The South African President has declared a state of national disaster,...

South Africa: the state of national disaster declared in the face of the energy crisis

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa during his state of the nation address in Cape Town on February 9, 2023. AP

Text by: RFI Follow

2 mins

Cyril Ramaphosa addressed parliamentarians in Cape Town on Thursday, February 9, on the occasion of his annual address on the state of the nation.

The South African president has declared a state of national disaster, as he did for Covid, in the face of an unprecedented energy crisis.

This emergency measure comes as the national company Eskom fails to produce enough energy with its aging coal-fired power plants, and the country experienced in 2022 one of the worst years in terms of load shedding.

With our correspondent in Cape Town,

Claire Bargelès

While the demonstrations have multiplied in recent weeks, and again this Thursday, February 9, a few streets from Cape Town City Hall, the South African president has decided to use drastic measures in the face

of power cuts

“

The crisis has gradually evolved and now affects all sectors of society.
We are therefore declaring a state of national disaster to respond to this electricity crisis and its effects.

This measure, applied with immediate effect, should, according to the Head of State, help to better centralize the response to be provided and accelerate the implementation of certain projects, avoiding administrative blockages.

And while a reshuffle is looming within the government, Cyril Ramaphosa announced the creation of a new post of “

Minister of Electricity

”, which will be “

attached to the presidency

”.

"Whatever the difficulties of the moment, whatever crises we face, we will rise to meet them together and, together, we will overcome them," states President @CyrilRamaphosa in the #SONA2023.

#LeaveNoOneBehind pic.twitter.com/Lt2OYvCyxb

— Presidency |

South Africa 🇿🇦 (@PresidencyZA) February 9, 2023

For the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance, and its leader, John Steenhuisen, the state of national disaster is a bad response to the crisis: "

We are going to talk to our lawyers, but we are thinking of contesting this decision before the courts, as it opens the door to looters and profiteers, as seen during Covid, when the same result could have been achieved through key interventions around Eskom.

The Minister of Energy estimated, a little earlier in the week, that power cuts cost the country up to 50 million euros per day.

► To read also: Repeated power cuts, a danger for the economy in South Africa

South Africa: the state of national disaster declared in the face of the energy crisis

South Africa: the state of national disaster declared in the face of the energy crisis

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