South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has canceled his participation in the World Economic Forum in Davos due to the acute energy crisis in his country, his spokesperson announced on Sunday January 15. South Africa is experiencing record blackouts and problems at state-owned Eskom, which produces more than 90% of the country’s electricity, have worsened further over the past year.
Ramaphosa was due to lead a government delegation to the Swiss Alps resort this week, but he will remain in his country to meet with Eskom and political leaders, presidential spokesman Vincent Magwenya said. “The President convenes a meeting with the leaders of the political parties represented in Parliament, the Neccom [National Energy Crisis Committee] and the Eskom Board of Directors”wrote Mr. Magwenya on Twitter.
Load shedding has been on the rise in South Africa for years as Eskom fails to keep pace with demand and maintain its aging infrastructure – mostly coal-fired power plants. But breakdowns have reached new records in the past twelve months, the company defending itself by questioning sabotage. This week, due to a new breakdown in its facilities, it even announced load shedding which could last up to nearly twelve hours a day, until further notice.
These cuts, which have already cost the country hundreds of millions of dollars by disrupting trade and industry, are exacerbating public discontent. Especially since Eskom will increase its prices by 18.65% from April. In this context, the main opposition party, the Democratic Alliance (DA), on Saturday called on South Africans to join a “big protest march”on January 25 in Johannesburg, for “to express their anger” in front of this situation.