Meanwhile, in South Africa: On the 9th of February 2023, South African President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a state of National disaster. The measure was taken to enable the government to accelerate its response to an ongoing energy crisis, and announced plans to give tax breaks to businesses and households that generate their own solar power. The energy crisis has been ongoing for 15 years now. Eskom, has $26bn (£21bn) of debt, old infrastructure, power stations that do not work properly, and strikes which affected the company greatly. However, the power shortage has escalated in recent months, with South Africans facing electricity cuts for 288 days last year, while this year there have been electricity blackouts for up to 15 hours a day. Declaring a state of disaster means “that the government is given additional powers to resolve a crisis with less bureaucracy, regulation and extra funds.”
However, some fear that this will result in corruption and mismanagement or theft of funds.