In the last South African State of the Nation Address (SoNA), delivered on February 10, President Cyril Ramaphosa focused on the critical energy crisis the country has been witnessing for several years.
Although South Africa is <<in the grip of a profound energy crisis, the seeds of which were planted many years ago>>, the daily blackouts and power cuts made by state-owned energy company Eskom have lasted for up to 15 hours per day, affecting drastically the lives of the citizens and their businesses.
After many protests, President Ramaphosa declared a “state of emergency”, as he had already done in 2020 for the Covid-19 pandemic and in 2021 for the floods in the province of KwaZulu-Natal.
The main purpose of this declaration, which extraordinary powers are given under the 2002 National Disaster Management Act, is to resolve the inefficiency of Eskom’s coal plants, finance the development of new sustainable systems, and fight corruption within the company.
However, the extraordinary powers that the government exercise under this legislation, such as bypassing existing laws in the procurement and delivery of goods and services and taking energy from other countries in an emergency, has caused no little political turmoil.
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