South African President Cyril Ramaphosa on Saturday said the country's debt-laden power utility Eskom would not be privatised and pledged to restore it to full capacity. Rolling blackouts were implemented several times last year to prevent the grid collapsing and resumed last weekend despite a government promise not to ration power during the first two weeks of January.

Eskom chair Jabu Mabuza stepped down Friday in protest.

"Eskom will be restored to becoming a company that can provide energy," said Ramaphosa, speaking at the 108th birthday celebration of the ruling African National Congress (ANC) party.

"We are not going to privatise Eskom," he added. "We are going to strengthen Eskom so that it can deliver energy as it should."

Eskom, which supplies 95 percent of South Africa's electricity, has been crippled by poorly designed coal-fired power stations, as well as decades of mismanagement and alleged corruption under former national president Jacob Zuma.

It has amassed 450 billion rand ($31 billion, 28 billion euros) in debt, which economists warn is a major threat to Africa's most industrialised economy.