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.南非总统西里尔·拉马福萨宣布全国进入灾难状态，以应对该国旷日持久的能源危机，称其对非洲最发达的经济体构成“生存威胁”。Setting out the government’s key objectives for the year in a state of the nation address Thursday, Ramaphosa said the crisis is “an existential threat to the economy and the social fabric of our country” and that “our most immediate priority is to restore energy security.”拉马福萨在周四的国情咨文中阐述了政府今年的主要目标，他说这场危机“对我国经济和社会结构造成生存威胁”，“我们最紧迫的任务是恢复能源安全”。South Africans have endured power cuts for years, but 2022 saw more than twice as many blackouts as any other year, as aging coal-fired power plants broke down and state-owned power utility Eskom struggled to find the money to buy diesel for emergency generators.南非人多年来一直遭遇着停电，但2022年的停电次数是其他年份的两倍多，由于燃煤发电站设备陈旧，故障频发，国有电力公司Eskom努力筹资购买应急发电机的柴油。Blackouts in South Africa — or load-shedding as they’re known locally — have been lasting for as long as 12 hours a day. Last month, people were even advised to bury the dead within four days after the South African Funeral Practitioners Association warned that mortuary bodies were decomposing because of the constant electricity outages.南非的停电，或当地所称的减载，已经持续到每天12小时之久。上个月，南非殡葬业者协会警告说，由于持续停电，停尸房的尸体正在腐烂，协会甚至建议人们在四天内埋葬死者。The intermittent power supply is hobbling small businesses and jeopardizing economic growth and jobs in a country where the unemployment rate already stands at 33%.在一个失业率已经达到33%的国家，断断续续的电力供应正在阻碍小企业的发展，危及经济增长和就业。South Africa’s GDP growth is likely to more than halve this year to 1.2%, the International Monetary Fund has forecast, citing power shortages alongside weaker external demand and “structural constraints.”国际货币基金组织预测，南非今年的GDP增长可能会缩减一半以上，降至1.2%，原因是电力短缺以及外部需求疲软和“结构性限制”。Ramaphosa said Thursday that the national state of disaster would begin with immediate effect.拉马福萨周四宣布，南非全国进入灾难状态，该声明立即生效。That would allow the government “to provide practical measures to support businesses,” and ringfence power supply for critical infrastructure, such as hospitals and water treatment plants, he added.他补充说，政府将“提供切实措施支持企业”，并为医院和水处理厂等重要基础设施的电力供应提供拨款。Ramaphosa, who was forced to cancel a trip to the annual World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, in January as a result of the rolling blackouts, also said he would appoint a minister of electricity with “full responsibility for overseeing all aspects of electricity response.”拉马福萨说，他将任命一位电力部长，“全权负责监督应对电力危机的各个方面”，由于停电危机断断续续，他不得不取消1月份参加瑞士达沃斯举行的年度世界经济论坛的行程。In addition, the president unveiled anti-corruption measures Thursday “to guard against any abuses of funds needed to attend to this disaster,” and a dedicated South African police service team to “deal with the pervasive corruption and theft at several power stations.”此外，总统周四公布了反腐措施，“以防止任何人滥用这场灾难所需的资金”，并公布了一个专门的南非警察服务小组，以“处理几个发电站普遍存在的腐败和盗窃行为”。The utility has lost money for years and, despite steep tariff increases for customers, still relies on government bailouts to remain solvent. Years of mismanagement and systematic corruption are believed to be the key reasons why Eskom has been unable to keep the lights on.Eskom公司多年来一直在亏损，尽管客户的电价大幅上涨，但仍然依靠政府的救助来维持偿付能力。多年的不善管理和系统性腐败被认为是Eskom无法维持电力供应的关键原因。A commission of inquiry led by Judge Raymond Zondo into corruption and fraud in the public sector in South Africa concluded that members of Eskom’s former board should face criminal prosecution due to management failures and a “culture of corrupt practices.”雷蒙德·宗多法官为首的调查委员会对南非公共部门的腐败和欺诈行为进行了调查，调查结果是由于管理失误和“普遍的腐败行为”，Eskom前董事会成员因此将面临刑事起诉。 词汇小结：drawn-out [ ˌdrɔːn ˈaʊt] : 延长的; 持续很久的blackout [ˈblækaʊt] : 停电; （新闻等的） 封锁diesel [ˈdiːzl] : 柴油mortuary [ˈmɔːrtʃueri] : 停尸室，太平间outage [ˈaʊtɪdʒ] : （电力）断供期，断供hobble [ˈhɑbl] : 跛行; 蹒跚prosecution [ˌprɑsɪˈkjuʃn] : 控告，起诉
