South Africa declares 'state of disaster' over energy crisis

"We are in the grip of a profound energy crisis," South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Thursday declared a national "state of disaster" over his country's crippling power shortages, saying they posed an existential threat to the economy and social fabric.

"We are in the grip of a profound energy crisis," Mr. Ramaphosa said in his annual State of the Nation Address to parliament.

"The crisis has progressively evolved to affect every part of society. We must act to lessen the impact of the crisis on farmers, on small businesses, on our water infrastructure and our transport network."

State electricity utility Eskom is implementing the worst rolling blackouts on record, leaving households in the dark, disrupting manufacturing and hurting businesses of all sizes.

The power cuts are expected to reduce economic growth in Africa's most industrialised nation to just 0.3% this year.

Declaring a national state of disaster gives the government additional powers to respond to a crisis, including by permitting emergency procurement procedures with fewer bureaucratic delays and less oversight.

The legislation was used to enable health authorities to respond more swiftly to the COVID-19 pandemic, but some analysts doubt it will help the government expand power supply much quicker.