South African president cancels Davos trip to deal with energy crisis at home-Xinhua

South African president cancels Davos trip to deal with energy crisis at home

Source: Xinhua| 2023-01-16 20:59:00|Editor: huaxia

JOHANNESBURG, Jan. 16 (Xinhua) -- South African President Cyril Ramaphosa has canceled his trip to the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos to address the energy crisis in the country, the president's spokesperson said.

Ramaphosa was supposed to join other world leaders and the business community at Davos, Switzerland, for the Jan. 16-20 forum.

"Due to the ongoing energy crisis, President Cyril Ramaphosa has cancelled his working visit to the World Economic Forum in Davos. Currently the president is convening a meeting with leaders of political parties represented in parliament, NECCOM and the Eskom board," said the spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, in a post on social media Sunday.

NECCOM stands for the National Energy Crisis Committee; Eskom is South Africa's state power utility.

South Africa has been experiencing frequent power shortages, sometimes for more than six hours a day.

On Saturday, the Democratic Alliance, the main opposition party in the country, called on South Africans to join a protest march to "voice their anger" at the situation.

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