London CNN —South Africa’s President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a national state of disaster in response to the country’s drawn-out energy crisis, calling it “an existential threat” to Africa’s most developed economy. Blackouts in South Africa — or load-shedding as they’re known locally — have been lasting for as long as 12 hours a day. Dwayne Senior/Bloomberg/Getty ImagesRamaphosa said Thursday that the national state of disaster would begin with immediate effect. Eskom has very little backup power, which makes it difficult to take units offline to perform crucial maintenance work. Years of mismanagement and systematic corruption are believed to be the key reasons why Eskom has been unable to keep the lights on.

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