Ramaphosa returns to South Africa to deal with power crisis
Cape Town, South Africa (PANA) – President Cyril Ramaphosa on Tuesday cut short his official trip to Egypt to deal with the power shortage crisis which has plunged much of South Africa into darkness.
The Presidency has confirmed Ramaphosa will meet with the management of power utility Eskom which is cutting electricity supplies to businesses, mines and homes throughout the land.
“The ongoing load shedding is devastating for the country. It is causing our economy great harm and disrupting the lives of citizens. Our immediate priority is to get as much generating capacity back on line within the shortest possible time. Eskom’s emergency response command centre and technical teams are working around the clock to fix multiple breakdowns,” Ramaphosa said.
He was visiting Egypt to attend the Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development, which was scheduled to take place on Wednesday.
Eskom said heavy rain in Mpumalanga province has wet coal supplies and is impacting its production.
The official opposition Democratic Alliance (DA) said South Africa is facing the ever-repeating cycle of drastic energy challenges with little political will to make the decisions required to ensure cheaper and more secure energy is available to citizens.
“While President Ramaphosa is currently in Egypt surrounded by ancient ruins from a bygone era, today we too stand in front of a ruin from a bygone era – South Africa’s power producer that faces imminent collapse. The viability of Eskom in its current form is non-existent. This is not a crisis of new making; it has been fast approaching for a decade and more,” said DA leader John Steenhuisen.
-0- PANA CU/AR 10Dec2019
