How world sees SA: Ramaphosa to smash Eskom vice-grip on electricity supply

The world's influential business players and investors with the power to move funds around the globe are watching how the ruling ANC handles the problems at Eskom. This is evident, as the London-based Financial Times picks up on President Cyril Ramaphosa's pledge to reduce the country's reliance on the state-owned utility as the provider of electricity. Blackouts are annoying for South Africans because they interrupt business activity and interfere with daily life. For investors, power cuts are a reminder that assets are being grossly mismanaged. – Jackie Cameron

By Thulasizwe Sithole

President Cyril Ramaphosa has vowed to break the hold of Eskom on South Africa's power supply. He delivered this powerful message during his State of the Nation Address 2020 and it resonated with international investors.

The influential Financial Times picked up on the details, telling its readers that Ramaphosa has "pledged to free more of the power supply of Africa's most industrialised nation from the grip of Eskom, the failing state-owned electricity monopoly, as its intense rolling blackouts plague the economy".

Towns and cities, says the FT, will be permitted to buy independent power and investors will be invited to bid for renewables projects under "measures that will fundamentally change the trajectory of energy generation".

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