South Africa revokes 'state of disaster' declared over power crisis

JOHANNESBURG (Reuters) - The South African government has decided to revoke the "National State of Disaster" declared in February to manage the electricity crisis, Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs (CoGTA) minister Thembi Nkadimeng said on Wednesday.

Government will work through its Energy Crisis Committee to reduce the impact of power cuts using existing legislation and contingency arrangements, CoGTA said in a statement.

The termination of the national state of disaster was with immediate effect, the statement said.

Declaring a national state of disaster was aimed at giving the government additional powers to respond to the energy crisis, including by permitting emergency procurement procedures with fewer bureaucratic delays and less oversight.

(Reporting by Kopano Gumbi; Writing by Bhargav Acharya; Editing by Olivia Kumwenda-Mtambo)