South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has cut short a trip abroad “to attend to urgent domestic priorities” as his country experiences a sixth day of blackouts.
The presidency announced the decision on Tuesday after Ramaphosa met with Egyptian President Abdel Fahhat el-Sisi in Cairo, Egypt.
President Ramaphosa was scheduled to participate in a high-level panel at the Inaugural Aswan Forum for Sustainable Peace and Development on the 11th December.
“President Cyril Ramaphosa will on Wednesday the 11th of December 2019 meet with the Board and Management of the national power utility Eskom – where he will be briefed on plans to mitigate and resolve the current electricity crisis affecting most of the country.
“President Ramaphosa will also visit the operations centre at Eskom headquarters at Megawatt Park in Gauteng,” said a statement from the Presidency.
The blackouts in South Africa have threatened the country’s economy, with numerous businesses forced to shut temporarily until the situation is resolved.
Eskom announced that there’s a likelihood of power cuts lasting all week.
The utility, which supplies 95% of the power used in Africa’s most industrialized economy, has struggled to meet demand for power since 2005.
President Ramaphosa is also expected to Tembisa which has been hit by recent flooding affecting thousands of people.
“The President will meet with local residents, community leaders and provincial officials managing the support being given to the stricken community,” said the presidency.
