South Africa hit by more power cuts as electricity imports from Mozambique face disruption

South African state utility Eskom stepped up blackouts on Saturday as it lost 900 megawatts of electricity imports from neighbouring Mozambique, which was hit this week by a cyclone.

Eskom, which generates nearly all of the power for Africa’s most industrialised economy, said that it had cut 4,000 megawatts, double the 2,000 MW it had said would be cut over the weekend.

Eskom’s problems are a challenge for President Cyril Ramaphosa as they are holding back efforts to haul the economy out of a slump before a national election in May.

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