STORY: End of load shedding finally within reach: South African president
SHOOTING TIME: Feb. 8, 2024
DATELINE: Feb. 10, 2024
LENGTH: 00:03:50
LOCATION: Cape Town
CATEGORY: POLITICS

SHOTLIST:
1. various of City Hall in Cape Town, where the State of the Nation Address was held
2. SOUNDBITE 1 (English): CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, South African President
3. various of military band
4. SOUNDBITE 2 (English): CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, South African President
5. various of President Cyril Ramaphosa
6. SOUNDBITE 3 (English): CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, South African President

STORYLINE:

South African President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday that an end to frequent load shedding -- a local term for power cuts -- in the country is "finally within reach."

Ramaphosa made the remarks while delivering his 2024 State of the Nation Address (SONA) in Cape Town, the legislative capital of South Africa.

SOUNDBITE 1 (English): CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, South African President
"We are confident that the worst is behind us and the end of load shedding is finally within reach."

"But we are not stopping there," said the president, who declared a national state of disaster in his SONA last year to respond to the country's electricity crisis.

"To ensure that we never face a similar crisis ever again, we are reforming our energy system to make it more competitive, sustainable and reliable into the future," said Ramaphosa.

SOUNDBITE 2 (English): CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, South African President
"We are going to build more than 14,000 kilometers of new transmission lines to accommodate renewable energy over the coming years."

"To fast-track this process, we will enable private investment in transmission infrastructure through a variety of innovative investment models," he said.

In addition to ending load shedding, Ramaphosa noted, the ongoing reforms and efforts will also enable South Africa to improve its logistics system, to achieve water security and ultimately to create jobs.

SOUNDBITE 3 (English): CYRIL RAMAPHOSA, South African President
"While our challenges have never been greater, our response to these challenges will lead us to greater prosperity that we have ever known."

Xinhua News Agency correspondents reporting from Cape Town.
(XHTV)