Ramaphosa cancels Davos trip to deal with energy crisis

President Cyril Ramaphosa on Sunday announced he has cancelled his working visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, due to the ongoing energy crisis.

Ramaphosa was scheduled to lead a delegation of ministers and South African captains of industry to promote South Africa as an investment destination of choice. 

The delegation to WEF was expected to add the country’s voice to discussions about global issues, with the overall aim to position South Africa as a competitive business destination.

However, rising dissent with the populace after the country experienced debilitating stage 6 load-shedding 11 days into the new year has seemingly changed the president’s plans. 

This as political parties have added their voices to the criticism over the government’s inability to get the power utility fully-operational.

“Currently the president is convening a meeting with leaders of political parties represented in parliament, (National Energy Crisis Committee) and the Eskom board,” presidency spokesperson Vincent Magwenya said.

This is not the first time that Ramaphosa has interrupted his overseas visits to deal with the energy crisis.

In September last year, Ramaphosa cut short his US/UK trip to address the electricity crisis.

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