President Cyril Ramaphosa’s office has hinted that he will on Thursday address the electricity crisis as Eskom continues to implement rolling blackouts.
This comes as political parties, civil society, unions and other stakeholders urged Ramaphosa to deal with socio-economic challenges facing the country.
Businesses have been complaining about the cost of power cuts with economists and other experts putting the cost of load shedding at R1 billion a day.
Ramaphosa’s spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said load shedding was one of the key things Ramaphosa would talk about in the Sona.
Magwenya said after the Cabinet lekgotla some of the decisions would be made public.
“The lekgotla has enabled the national leadership to agree on key actions that are needed this year to advance the country’s economic recovery and long-term development, with resolution of the electricity crisis as the top priority,” said Magwenya.
“In addition, the president has reached to various stakeholder constituencies to take on board challenges and proposed solutions.”
He added Ramaphosa had also taken into consideration proposals from the public and other sectors of society.
Political parties, business, labour and civil society have been calling for a range of interventions to stabilise the economy and end load shedding.
They said load shedding was affecting the economy with some of the small businesses forced to close.
They also called for more resources to be allocated to fight crime and corruption.
Current Affairs