By John Ikani
President Cyril Ramaphosa of South Africa has announced that the governing ANC party is considering declaring the power crisis a national disaster.
The move is similar to the state of disaster declared in 2020 to manage the Covid pandemic.
Ramaphosa stated, “We’re checking if declaring a national disaster meets the legal requirements and what actions we can take.” He added, “This will give us the tools to tackle the challenges our nation faces head-on.”
For years, South Africa has been plagued by energy issues, with blackouts caused by ageing infrastructure and corruption.
The ruling party is facing mounting pressure to find a solution for the nation’s power sector with load shedding becoming the norm.
Load shedding is a term used to describe the intentional and planned blackout of certain areas in South Africa.
It is usually done by the national power utility company, Eskom, as a means of reducing demand on the country’s electricity grid during periods of high electricity usage or when there is a shortage of electricity supply.
Load shedding has been a persistent problem in South Africa for many years and has been a source of frustration and economic disruption for residents and businesses.
