Ramaphosa urges citizens to pay for electricity
President Cyril Ramaphosa has made an urgent call to all South Africans to start paying every time they switch on the lights.
Ramaphosa was addressing Members of Parliament (MPs) during his State of the Nation Address (SONA) on Thursday evening.
He added that failure to pay for electricity will cripple the economy.
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"Failure to pay endangers our entire electricity supply, our economy and our efforts to create jobs.
Now the days of boycotting payments are over. This is the time to build and it is the time for all of us to make our contribution."
Ramaphosa says the Reserve Bank has projected that the growth in 2019 is likely to be lower than what was anticipated.
"Our reason - one reason rather - for the lacklustre economic performance has been the load shedding early this year together with the continued uncertainty of the supply of electricity and the state of Eskom.
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"The lesson is clear. We need a reliable and sustainable supply of electricity.”
Ramaphosa says a restructuring officer will be appointed.
"Who will be expected to reposition Eskom financially with careful attention to the mix between revenue, debt and cost structure of the company."