President Ramaphosa; during his state of the Nation Address speech on Thursday evening, 9 February 2023; declared that The National Disaster Management Centre has classified the energy crisis and its impact on the country as a national state of disaster.

Where technically possible, Ramaphosa said that critical infrastructure such as hospitals and water treatment plants will be exempt from load shedding.

A Minister of Electricity to the Presidency will be instated to assume full responsibility for the electricity crisis response, including the National Energy Crisis Committee’s tasks, said Ramaphosa.

“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,” he said. “The process of restructuring the government will allow us to determine the positioning of various areas of responsibilities.”

Darul Ihsan Media Desk