JOHANNESBURG - South Africa's new electricity minister will assume full responsibility for overseeing all aspects of the country's response to crippling power cuts, President Cyril Ramaphosa said on Thursday.

Ramaphosa said he would appoint the new minister last week during a State of the Nation Address (SONA) in parliament.

"The resolution of the energy crisis ... requires the undivided attention of a political principal who does not need to split their time and energies among different important responsibilities," Ramaphosa said on Thursday, responding to a debate by lawmakers on his SONA speech.

(Reporting by Anait Miridzhanian Editing by Alexander Winning)