More than 5 000 DA supporters marched through the City of Johannesburg for jobs, on January 27, 2016.
AFP PHOTO/MUJAHID SAFODIEN
‘Time to hit the streets!’: Steenhuisen indicates DA has plans for electricity protest
‘It’s time to hit the streets SA! We can’t sit back and take hyperinflationary increases!’ said DA leader John Steenhuisen.
More than 5 000 DA supporters marched through the City of Johannesburg for jobs, on January 27, 2016.
AFP PHOTO/MUJAHID SAFODIEN
With South Africa in the throes of Stage 6 load shedding, the National Energy Regular (NERSA) approved an 18.65% tariff increase for Eskom on Thursday, 12 January. Eskom welcomed the decision, but the rest of the country was much less enthused, to put it mildly.
NERSA, ESKOM IN FIRING LINE OVER TARIFF HIKE
Eskom initially applied for a 32% tariff increase for 2022/2023 and a further 22.52% increase for the financial year after that. NERSA greenlit increases of 18.65% and 12.74%, respectively. They will kick in on 1 April of the financial year in question.
NERSA said it had to make an “extremely difficult decision” and sought to balance the needs of Eskom and consumers.
The Democratic Alliance (DA) labelled the increase “daylight robbery”; the Leading trade union federation, COSATU, called the hike “insensitive and careless,” and the EFF said NERSA failed in its mandate to uphold fair energy prices.
READ MORE:
- ‘Daylight robbery’: DA on NERSA approving 18.65% tariff hike
- Cape Town mayor slams Eskom tariff hike as ‘unfair, unaffordable and unjust’
DA leader, John Steenhuisen, took to Twitter and said it was time for South Africans to hit the streets and protest against the “hyperinflationary increase”
“Far too many citizens are barely able to keep their heads above water. This 18% NERSA increase is like a government jackboot pushing more of us under the surface. We’ll announce plans soon,” said Steenhuisen.
On Thursday, Steenhuisen wrote to President Cyril Ramaphosa to request an urgent meeting about South Africa’s “deepening electricity crisis.”
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