South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday his country needed fundamental change to revive economic growth.
Addressing the many troubles that have plagued the country in the past decade in his State of the Nation speech, Ramaphosa singled out its unreliable power supply as one of the biggest threats to long-term prosperity.
President Ramaphosa said he will tackle endemic poverty, inequality and unemployment deepened by chronic power cuts and COVID-19.
He also promised to tackle the corruption that blossomed under his predecessor, Jacob Zuma, and left deep holes in the finances of public companies, including state-owned power utility Eskom.
“The present situation …is unacceptable,” he said, promising to prioritise improving power generation. “Fundamental (economic) reforms are needed.”