18.6% Nersa tariff hike: ANC failures set to fleece already overburdened South Africans already in the throes of Stage 6 blackouts

12 January 2023                

South Africans are already battling high inflation, declining public services and escalating food prices, but will now receive the news that they are to face an exorbitant 18.6% increase in the price of electricity while in the grips of stage 6 load shedding.

While our people are resilient and can withstand great adversity, it is difficult to remain optimistic when it is patently evident that the ANC government has no plan to end our energy crisis. A feasible solution has to be pursued because the South African ratepayer cannot continue to pay for historical and persistent mismanagement of our power utility.

We have now been besieged by loadshedding for 14 years with the situation getting progressively worse. As we are forced to live with de facto semi-permanent rolling blackouts.

The current situation is untenable. The people of South Africa, having come out of a nearly dilapidating lockdown, should not have to endure further hardship.

Eskom needs to fix its operational challenges and introduce new generation capacity speedily. The running of Eskom needs to be depoliticised and the engagement of Independent Power Producers needs to continue with a sense of urgency.

Most importantly, the incompetent and corrupt ANC must be removed from power. It is clear that as long as the ANC is in power, there will be no end to rolling blackouts. The only way to end this crisis is to end the ANC’s stranglehold over South Africa.

Issued by Herman Mashaba, President, ActionSA, 12 January 2023