'It's a crisis'

2008-01-22 22:37

Pretoria - Government viewed the current electricity black-outs in the country as a crisis and planned to take charge and find solutions, spokesperson Themba Maseko said on Tuesday.

Cabinet would discuss the country's electricity supply crisis at its lekgotla taking place in Pretoria, Maseko said.

He said Eskom chief executive Jacob Maroga had briefed a routine Cabinet meeting earlier on Tuesday on the state of the country's power supply.

"The impact of load-shedding on the economy, citizens and the country's image is regretted," Maseko told reporters after the cabinet meeting in Pretoria.

"We are taking it as a crisis - government is going to take charge of the situation and make sure a solution is found," he added.

Maroga has asked for "additional investment" by government - Eskom's only shareholder - to implement the power utility's programme of building new power stations.

This request will form part of the discussions on the energy crisis at the lekgotla.

"A number of proposals are on the table which includes putting together a national intervention plan - and that includes making a call to citizens to say what steps they need to take to conserve energy," Maseko said.

The discussion would also focus on proposals to cut power supplies to neighbouring countries and to implement daylight saving time, the impact of the shortage of electricity on the economy and how business and individuals could be encouraged to save electricity.

The January Cabinet lekgotla is normally a preparation for President Thabo Mbeki's state of the nation address, where the outcomes of the discussions are made known.

Maseko, however, admitted there was an urgent need to communicate the "concrete decisions" made at the Cabinet lekgotla before Mbeki's February address and said this could come as soon as the end of the week.

- SAPA