South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday declared a state of national disaster in an attempt to stem the deep electricity crisis that is undermining the daily life and economy of the continent’s leading industrial power.
For months, 60 million South Africans have been forced to cook, wash their clothes and charge their phones at certain times of the day only.
The country is running out of electricity and rationing it by imposing scheduled blackouts.
These power cuts have lasted up to nearly 12 hours on some days, with the shortage worsening since last year.
“We are declaring a state of national disaster in response to the electricity crisis and its impact,” President Cyril Ramaphosa said at the Cape Town City Hall, where he held his annual state of the nation address in the evening, broadcast live on television.
He went on to say that “extraordinary circumstances require extraordinary measures”, recognizing that “the crisis has gradually evolved to affect all levels of society”.
The state of disaster mainly allows the release of exceptional funds. The ANC said last week that it had given “clear instructions” and urged the government to adopt this provision.
Cyril Ramaphosa had already triggered this procedure last year during the unprecedented floods that killed more than 400 people in the southeast of the country and caused destruction estimated at several hundred million euros.
The state of disaster could also appease a growing anger that has taken to the streets in recent weeks with demonstrations against power cuts in several cities, called by the opposition and trade unions.
Again, on Thursday, several hundred people gathered in Cape Town, in a gloomy economic and social context. Unemployment has reached 32.9%, growth forecasts for this year are almost zero (0.3%) and the increase in the cost of living seems to be driven by persistent inflation.
“It’s a whole energy system that is collapsing and a situation that is probably impossible to resolve in the short term,” Erwin Schwella, a public affairs expert said.
Source: https://energynewsafrica.com