ActionSA and others claim legal victory to secure power supply for hospitals, schools and police stations

5 May 2023

ActionSA, UDM and 17 others claimed victory today by securing electricity supply to all South African public health establishments, schools and police stations, after we won Part A of our court case against the Minister of Public Enterprises and others.

The Pretoria High Court ruled that the Department of Enterprises, in conjunction with or without other Organs of State, must within 60 days take all reasonable steps to provide uninterrupted electricity supply to all public health establishments, schools and South African Police Service police stations across South Africa

The legal victory ensures that communities across South Africa will no longer be subject to the failures of the ANC and Eskom, which have left our communities at their mercy when hospitals, police stations and schools lose electricity during increasing levels of load shedding.

The court case by ActionSA, UDM and 17 others seeks to, among others, declare the ANC-led government’s response to loadshedding as unconstitutional and breaching a number of fundamental constitutional rights. Part B is enrolled for hearing in September 2023.

After almost 15 years of loadshedding it is clear that the ANC government lacks the will to resolve the crisis, leaving South Africans in the dark. It is our belief that without urgent intervention by our Courts, the government will continue to let the ensuing crisis persist unabated.

ActionSA would like to thank the remainder of our legal for their tireless work on this matter – Adv. Bruce Dyke SC, who led our team, our junior counsel Adv. Anusha Nadasen, and our attorneys Michael Herbst and Michelle Clarke.

ActionSA, a party committed to social justice, will continue to work to bring an end to load shedding which the ANC has caused, and ensure that our communities are protected from load shedding.

Issued by Gillian Benson, ActionSA Head of Strategic Litigation, 5 May 2023