Ramaphosa Says Cabinet To Mull National State Of Disaster For Energy Crisis

According to President Cyril Ramaphosa, the topic of imposing a national state of emergency comparable to the ones South Africans experienced during the COVID-19 epidemic will be discussed at the cabinet lekgotla Wednesday.

Ramaphosa said party leaders had supported calls for the National state of disaster to quickly address South Africa's power problem in a far shorter period than the 18 to 24 months government had initially announced.

He spoke at the conclusion of the ANC NEC lekgotla on Monday night. "There's broad agreement that we should move in that direction...work is already underway within government to establish whether the legal requirements for the declaration of a national state of disaster are met," the President said, as per Bloomberg.

Ramaphosa and his cabinet will meet Wednesday to discuss the government's priorities for 2023 before next week's state-of-the-nation address. In addition, the government would receive clarification on the scope of the authority the proclamation would grant to end load shedding.

He noted that a national state of emergency would be required to have the tools necessary to confront the problem South Africa faces.

Meanwhile, Ramaphosa said in his weekly newsletter that he requested the Eskom board to take action last week to help lessen the effects of the rate rise.

The statement comes after Eskom granted one of its most significant hike increases, 18.65%, from the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa), for the fiscal year 2022–2023.

Ramaphosa claimed that the price increase occurred when it was "very tough" for individuals and businesses, who already had to deal with the high cost of food, fuel, and other necessities. "There is little doubt that increasing the price of electricity now, at this challenging time, will add to the difficulties South Africans are facing. Rising food and energy prices are fuelling a cost of living crisis around the world, and the poor are being hardest hit," he said, as per the newsletter.

He further added that the government should be directed by the needs and interests of its constituents, particularly the poor, and that it should be mindful of making decisions in the short term that it would come to regret later.

According to the President, other initiatives to increase the social wage include providing free primary healthcare, exempting kids from impoverished households from paying school fees, funding a nationwide program to improve school nutrition, and offering free tertiary education for those who qualify.