On Wednesday, hundreds of supporters of South Africa’s opposition Democratic Alliance demonstrated against persistent power outages that are harming the most advanced economy on the continent of Africa.
The energy crisis that has plagued South Africa for more than ten years has intensified this year, with the nation now regularly witnessing scheduled blackouts that can last up to ten hours per day.
The power reductions, locally referred to as “load shedding,” are intended to ease the grid’s load.
Ageing coal plants that are prone to malfunctions plague Eskom, the cash-strapped and indebted state power operator. The utility has also been severely undermined by corruption and sabotage. Andre de Ruyter, the company’s CEO, is slated to resign at the end of March.
Hundreds of demonstrators gathered outside the African National Congress party’s offices and demanded that the government take action to stop the energy crisis. Cynah Selomeleng, a 48-year-old mother of four, was one of them.
READ ALSO: Chris Hipkins has sworn in as New Zealand’s prime minister
“The loadshedding is really hurting us since the fridges are constantly empty, so we throw out the food and the meat, and we have to iron clothes for the kids at school,” added Selomeleng. “You understand how terrible it is for us. Even if the loadshed is there, life is really difficult for us since we lack access to water. You see, without water or electricity, how are we going to survive? Yes, we do want that to end, and they have to do so.
Cassius Mmoko, a 40-year-old construction worker, expressed her annoyance.
“It’s very unacceptable; people are losing their jobs, certain areas are without energy for a while, things get screwed up, and the economy suffers,” added Mmoko. ”
John Steenhuisen, the head of the Democratic Alliance, warned the gathering that the nation was in danger due to the energy crisis.
“Today, we’re talking about a very essential topic called energy,” added Steenhuisen. “Our entire economy is in danger as a result of the crisis.” Our population is being driven into poverty by this disaster. Our enterprises are being stolen by the crisis. Every single home is being affected by this catastrophe.
President Cyril Ramaphosa stated earlier this week that the government was considering importing electricity but cautioned that the issue couldn’t be fixed “overnight.”
