President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a national State of Disaster with immediate effect as a response to the current energy crisis plaguing the country.
State electricity utility, Eskom has been battling to keep the lights on for the past few months, leading to increased stages of load shedding and a devastating impact on lives, livelihoods and businesses.
The President announced the State of Disaster during the State of the Nation Address at Cape Town City Hall.
“In a time of crisis, we need a single point of command and a single line of march. Just as we address the cause of the crisis, we also need to address its impact. The crisis has progressively evolved to affect every part of society.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa
Ramaphosa iterated, “We must act to lessen the impact of the crisis on farmers, on small businesses, on our water infrastructure, on our transport network and a number of other areas and facilities that affect our people’s lives.”
“In considering all these matters and the crisis that we are in, the National Disaster Management Centre has consequently classified the energy crisis and its impact as a national disaster. We are therefore declaring a national state of disaster to respond to the electricity crisis and its effects.”
President Cyril Ramapohosa
The President stressed that the debilitating energy shortage in which the country finds itself requires government to move with increased urgency.
“Extraordinary circumstances call for extraordinary measures. The energy crisis is an existential threat to our economy and social fabric. We must spare no effort, and we must allow no delay, in implementing these measures.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa
According to Ramaphosa, the declaration will enable his government to exempt essential services like hospitals and water treatment plants from power blackouts and enable the government to purchase additional power from neighboring countries on an emergency basis.
It will also enable the government to assist businesses to deal with the effects of widespread power cuts, including making diesel-powered generators and solar panels more widely available.
The South African President insisted that the country would emerge with a more efficient energy network.
President Ramaphosa assured the public that expenditure related to the State of Disaster will be monitored closely by the Auditor General’s office to guard against “abuse of any funds needed” to address the energy crisis.
Ramaphosa’s speech was delayed for 45 minutes after disruptions by members of parliament from the leftist Economic Freedom Fighters opposition party, who were eventually removed from the sitting by security personnel.
Ramaphosa To Appoint Minister Of Electricity
Ramaphosa also announced that he will appoint a minister of electricity, whose sole focus would be to deal with the electricity crisis.
“I will appoint a Minister of Electricity in the Presidency to assume full responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the electricity crisis response, including the work of the National Energy Crisis Committee. The Minister will focus full-time and work with the Eskom board and management on ending load shedding and ensuring that the Energy Action Plan is implemented without delay.”
President Cyril Ramaphosa
The Minister of Public Enterprises, however, will remain in charge of Eskom and continue to manage its restructuring and “ensure the establishment of the transmission company, oversee the implementation of the just energy transition programme, and oversee the establishment of the SOE Holding Company”.
Ramaphosa also said that access to the witness protection programme for whistle-blowers that exposed government corruption was under way.
However, that brings little relief to those whose relatives were murdered for exposing maladministration.
To address the rising cost of living, Ramaphosa extended the relief funding which is earned by more than eight million unemployed South Africans.
