Africa’s most industrialised economy being hit by daily power cuts as anger grows among opposition and public
Eskom, South Africa’s power generation utility, has apologised to consumers but given no indication of when more energy will be restored to the national grid.
The power crisis in Africa’s most industrialised economy has been intensifying for several years. Analysts blame the shortfall on a failure to invest in an ageing fleet of largely coal-fuelled power stations, a lack of skilled staff andVincent Magwenya, the president’s spokesperson, said Ramaphosa acknowledged “the frustration of households, parents and learners who have commenced the school calendar year facing power shortages”.
A series of poor decisions by senior officials of the ruling African National Congress party , which has been in power since 1994, has also exacerbated the crisis over the last decade. Observers often cite the resistance of Gwede Mantashe, the energy minister, to private generation of power and to solar, wind or other renewable energy sources as a key recent factor.
Many senior ANC officials appear unwilling to accept responsibility for their failures. Mantashe has accused Eskom of seeking the overthrow of the government and Naledi Pandor, the foreign affairs minister, last week described Eskom’s failure to secure sufficient power for the country as “Despite the blackouts, regulatory authorities recently announced they would allow Eskom to increase prices by almost a third over the next two years, prompting opposition politicians to call for protests.
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