South Africa will assume part of the debt of its public electricity company to face the energy crisis

23 Feb. (EUROPA PRESS) –

The Government of South Africa will assume almost two thirds of the total debt of the national electric company Eskom for a value of 23,000 million US dollars (21,660 billion euros) in the midst of the energy crisis that the country has been facing for months.

The South African government will finance part of Eskom’s total debt in an effort to improve the maintenance of power plants that are malfunctioning in the country and that are deepening the blackouts that are taking place throughout the country, as detailed by the finance minister. , Enoch Godongwana, in statements collected by SABC News.

Specifically, the cabinet of President Cyril Ramaphosa will finance 13,000 million euros of the total of 20,670 million euros that the electricity company has maintained up to now.

The decision comes days after Ramaphosa declared a state of disaster across the country in an effort to deal with the energy crisis. The measure gives the South African government additional powers to respond to the crisis, including the ability to implement emergency recruitment procedures and new regulations, the aforementioned outlet reported.

According to the South African president, the country must give an effective response to the energy crisis, which is why some of the ministers in his Cabinet will be “day and night” looking for solutions.

The country’s power plants are experiencing blackouts and breakdowns are becoming more frequent. Meanwhile, Eskom is struggling financially to keep its combined cycle gas turbines running. The utility has also previously been forced to shut down some of its power plants, making the situation worse.