JOHANNESBURG, Jan 25: A crippling power crisis will not affect South Africa’s ability to host a successful 2010 World Cup, a senior government minister said on Friday.

A wave of rolling power cuts have darkened millions of houses, shut down mines and brought businesses to a standstill in the past two weeks, raising concerns of an economic slowdown and casting a shadow over preparations for the soccer event.

“For 2010, what we’re talking about doing is that we ensure that by that time we have a better (electricity) reserve margin,” Public Enterprises Minister Alec Erwin told a news conference in the capital Pretoria.

He made the comment as the government announced that the current power situation in the country represented a national emergency requiring an urgent and vigorous response from the public and private sectors as well as residents.

There are plans to place generators in all 10 stadiums that will be used during the World Cup, but officials are worried that concerns about electricity supply could give prospective visitors another reason to skip the festivities.—AFP