Fri 21 June 2019:
CAPE TOWN (Reuters) – South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa pledged on Thursday to speed up 230 billion rand ($16.11 billion) of support for ailing power utility Eskom, which he said was too vital to the economy to be allowed to fail. In his first state of the nation address since leading his party to victory in a May 8 election, Ramaphosa said Eskom’s financial position remains a matter of grave concern.
“Eskom is too vital to our economy and it cannot be allowed to fail,” he said. “We will therefore table a special appropriation bill on an urgent basis to allocate a significant portion of the 230 billion rand fiscal support that Eskom will require over the next 10 years in the early years.” In February the government pledged a 23 billion rand a year bailout over three years, but the firm says it needs more cash to keep the lights on after nationwide blackouts earlier in the year. A trade union leader turned businessman, Ramaphosa replaced scandal-hit predecessor Jacob Zuma as president in February 2018 and then was elected president after his party won a majority in May 8 parliamentary elections.
