South Africa’s president has appointed the country’s first electricity minister in an effort to address the unprecedented power shortages there.

Kgo-sientsho Ramo-kgopa’s most pressing task will be to end the daily blackouts, which can last up to 15 hours a day.

He will also have to deal with allegations of corruption at the state-run energy giant, Eskom.

The outages have been badly affecting homes and businesses for months.