APA-Pretoria (South Africa) South Africa has secured a US$1 billion loan from the World Bank to help the country reform its energy sector as part of efforts to end rolling power cuts that have reduced economic growth – especially in the crucial mining industry.
Pretoria announced in 2019 that it plans to split state-owned power supplier Eskom into three subsidiaries responsible for transmission, generation and distribution as part of the reforms.
World Bank director for South Africa, Marie Francoise Marie-Nelly, said in a statement that the loan was approved on Wednesday to support the reforms to split the struggling energy firm and to transition into a low carbon economy,
Marie-Nelly said the reforms the government had launched would “benefit the people of South Africa – particularly the most vulnerable households – the economy, the environment, and advance the energy transition.”
Eskom’s coal-fired power stations routinely break down, leading to outages of up to 10 hours a day.
The World Bank said its development policy loan would also contribute to the country’s gradual reduction in water and air pollution by reducing the reliance on coal for power generation.
NM/jn/APA