Ramaphosa admits there's 'a lot of anger' over load shedding but says govt working to end it

CAPE TOWN - As South Africans are forced to contend with crippling rolling power cuts, President Cyril Ramaphosa has given the assurance that government was pulling out all stops to find a lasting solution.

The debilitating electricity cuts moved up to stage four just hours after Ramaphosa concluded his State of the Nation Address on Thursday night.

This means that households and businesses will have to endure at least six hours without power per day.

Addressing the media at the annual Presidential Golf Challenge in Cape Town on Friday, Ramaphosa said that he understood the impact of consistent load shedding.

President Ramaphosa’s remarks came as Eskom ramped up load shedding to stage four, which means no electricity for up to six hours a day.

This follows Ramaphosa’s State of the Nation Address where he said an end to power cuts was in reach.

But Ramaphosa said that people were angry.

"It is a constant problem for South Africans. We know that and everybody feels it. It’s not comfortable at all. In fact, it does sometimes invoke a lot of anger."

But he said that he could not give a timeframe for the end of load shedding.

"You give them a date and there’s load shedding, thereafter they say you’re lying, you’re making empty and false promises. We’re not going to do that."

He said that the electricity minister was now "fully engaged" with Eskom to address the problem.