Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

South Africa's president to skip WEF to deal with crippling power cuts at home

Published 15/01/2023, 18:52
Updated 15/01/2023, 18:55
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Newly re-elected president of the African National Congress (ANC) Cyril Ramaphosa speaks at the close of the 55th National Conference of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, Decemb

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Newly re-elected president of the African National Congress (ANC) Cyril Ramaphosa speaks at the close of the 55th National Conference of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, Decemb

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa will no longer attend the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos due to the ongoing energy crisis in the country, his spokesman said on Sunday.

Power cuts have worsened since Tuesday when struggling state utility Eskom said it would implement its worst-ever outages until further notice.

The power cuts are a major source of public frustration with the governing African National Congress (ANC) and a brake on economic growth in Africa's most industrialised nation.

"Currently the President is convening a meeting with leaders of political parties represented in parliament, NECCOM (National Energy Crisis Committee) and the Eskom board," Vincent Magwenya, presidential spokesman said.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: Newly re-elected president of the African National Congress (ANC) Cyril Ramaphosa speaks at the close of the 55th National Conference of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) at the Nasrec Expo Centre in Johannesburg, South Africa, December 20, 2022. REUTERS/Sumaya Hisham/File Photo

He added that further briefing sessions with key stakeholders will take place during this coming week.

The beleaguered utility supplies the vast majority of South Africa's electricity, relying mainly on an ageing fleet of coal-fired power stations that are unreliable and prone to faults.

Latest comments

Congartulation mr president ! You become smart and realised what a rats trap is WEF
With all that sunshine, wind, coastal power?? Did I mention 2500 sunshine hours?
Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.