Staff Reporter
President Cyril Ramaphosa says South Africa will overcome the electricity crisis at Eskom.
Ramaphosa was speaking at the 25th Human Rights Day commemoration in #Sharpeville today.
“We have confronted difficulties before, challenges that seemed insurmountable, but we have prevailed through working together and never giving up. We will overcome the electricity crisis, just as we will overcome unemployment and poverty, crime and corruption,” said Ramaphosa.
He said restoring a reliable supply of electricity – and ensuring that South Africa has a sustainable model for affordable energy into the future was now one of the most urgent priorities.
“Energy, like housing, water and healthcare, is a human rights issue. It may not be mentioned in the Bill of Rights, but it is fundamental to the dignity, safety, health and well-being of our people,” he said.
“In 1994, only 36% of the population had access to electricity. Today, 8 out of 10 South Africans have electricity in their homes. Yet, we are currently facing a severe energy crisis that is having a profound impact on the lives of our people and our economy.”
Severe planned power cuts at Eskom are expected to shave 0.3 percentage points off the first-quarter of GDP growth, Goldman Sachs said on Thursday.
The country has suffered some of the worst power cuts in several years. It’s a major challenge for Ramaphosa just two months before an election where he will try to reverse a decline in voter support for the African National Congress.
“If the current intensity of load-shedding were to persist in 2019, it could subtract up to 0.9 percentage points from annual growth,” Goldman Sachs analysts wrote in a note to clients.
Eskom supplies more than 90% of the power in South Africa, but has suffered repeated faults at its coal-fired power stations, along with low water levels at hydroelectric plants and diesel shortages.
Additional reporting by Reuters
