Eastern Cape Co-operative Governance and Traditional Affairs MEC Fixile Xasa has welcomed the pronouncements on electricity infrastructure made by President Jacob Zuma in his State of the Nation address on Thursday night
Zuma said Amathole, Alfred Nzo and OR Tambo District Municipalities, including Lukhanji Local Municipality, would benefit from electricity infrastructure funding support in the 2015/16 financial year.
MEC Xasa said in a statement that the President's announcement would give the Eastern Cape government impetus to its programme of dealing with electricity backlogs in the affected areas in a sustainable manner.
During his State of The Nation Address, Zuma said stabilising Eskom's finances was a priority and the power utility would be given R23 billion to do so.
And speaking at a breakfast meeting in Cape Town on Friday, the President said South Africa's energy woes are a "challenge" but not a crisis and government knows how to address it.
