Loadshedding Disrupts Cyril Ramaphosa’s Speech at Local Government Summit

• President Ramaphosa briefly experience what South Africans go through for hours on end every day
• Loadshedding interrupted Ramaphosa's speech at the local government summit in Boksburg
• Ramaphosa used the brief interruption to lament the severity of the electricity crisis in SA and empathise with the challenges municipalities face as a result

BOKSBURG - President Cyril Ramaphosa's speech at the local government summit was interrupted when loadshedding struck the event on Wednesday, 28 September.

President Ramaphosa was well into his address which focused on practical solutions to challenges facing local governments when the lights cut out before quickly coming back on.

Taking the disruption in stride, Ramaphosa used the opportunity to make light of the situation and address the protracted electricity crisis plaguing the nation.

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President Ramaphosa advises that "using electricity sparingly" is a solution to keeping lights on

TimeLIVE reported that the gathering in Boksburg included mayors, councillors and various NGOs. The president was talking to the audience about conflict in politics when the power went out.

"I am sorry."

Ramaposa sheepishly apologised, and the crowd erupted into laughter.

The president said he regretted that loadshedding continues to be South Africa's greatest struggle. However, Ramaphosa acknowledged the constant blackouts' impact on local governments because they are responsible for distributing electricity.

President Ramaphosa said:

“It disrupts the livelihoods of our residents and people lose confidence in us.”

After years of telling the public that loadshedding would be solved soon, Ramaphosa conceded that loadshedding would be a permanent feature in the country for a while.

In his weekly newsletter, Ramaphosa admitted that there were no quick fixes to the energy crisis. the president also said that Eskom was urgently implementing measures to improve generation at Eskom's fleet of coal-fired power stations, IOL reported.

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South Africans react to loadshedding interrupting Ramaphosa's address

South Africans are pleased the president is experiencing what average citizens go through every day.

Here are some reactions:

@AllMattersLife speculated:

"They staged it for him "

@Oletta15148998 commented:

"They wanted him to taste what commoners like us go through everyday."

@jo97243785 added:

"More importantly, I was well into cooking my food when the electricity went out. Me and hundreds of thousands others that don't care what the ANC head of PR, Ramaphosa, has to say."

@SiyaMzi12 posted:

"A true comedy of errors..."

@Volmaster3 exclaimed:

"Daarsy!"

@gmalau32 said:

"Embarrassing. He deserves the shame. He went abroad when his country was in dark. SA doesn't have great leaders.

President Cyril Ramphosa advises SA citizens to use less power as solution to loadshedding

In a related matter, Briefly News reported that President Cyril Ramaphosa implored South Africans to use less electricity and ease the pressure on the Eskom grid amid increasing rolling blackouts.

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President Cyril Ramaphosa says there’s no quick fix for load shedding, SA fed up with empty promises

Ramaphosa conceded that there are no quick fixes for the loadshedding problem but assured the public that government is making progress in finding sustainable solutions.

The president admitted that the widespread anger over loadshedding was justified in his weekly newsletter but pointed out that the unpredictable performance of the power utility's coal-fired power stations means that loadshedding would continue for the foreseeable future.

Source: Briefly News