The British Financial Times has reported that South African President Cyril Ramaphosa is to place the state-owned electricity company Eskom under the control of the South African energy department, as several members of the government are denouncing the ongoing power outages that are impacting the South African economy.
Ramaphosa told the media that the ruling African National Congress (ANC) would be in charge of transferring several state-owned companies to government departments, adding that the implementation of this measure will take time. At the moment, ESKOM is supervised by the Ministry of Public Enterprises.
The move is aimed at solving South Africa’s energy crisis, which was caused by the excessive debt of state-owned ESKOM, whose CEO resigned last December.
Ramaphosa also said the move is an attempt to avoid the worst-case scenario of a total network collapse, adding that an assessment of the consequences of the decision and its effectiveness will be carried out.
ESKOM is responsible for producing almost all of the country’s energy. However, due to breakdowns in some of its stations, power cuts have long been forced.
According to analysts, the change in management could slow down efforts to fight corruption, which is responsible for the company’s reduction in energy production and delays the country’s transition to renewable energy.