Several political parties have slammed Eskom for announcing the return of power cuts in the wake of the new year, in which thousands have been forced to start their year in the face of darkness.
They said rolling blackouts have made a frustrating yet unsurprising comeback as 2024 kicks off, stating that the return of load shedding confirmed that they needed to rescue South Africa from the ruling party, the African National Congress (ANC).
The power utility announced on Monday that load shedding would resume on January 2. This is after Eskom suspended power cuts for 18 days.
#POWERALERT1
— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) January 1, 2024
Stage 2 loadshedding will be implemented from 05:00 until 16:00 on Tuesday. Thereafter, Stage 3 loadshedding will be implemented until 05:00 on Wednesday pic.twitter.com/68n38N2Feo
Stage 2 load shedding will be implemented between 5am and 4pm on Tuesday, followed by Stage 3 until 5am on Wednesday.
Load shedding returns, despite ANC secretary-general Fikile Mbalula promising that it would be gone by December 2023.
Fikile Mbalula said Loadshedding will a thing of the past by end of December 2023 @MbalulaFikile 🤣🤣🤣🤣
— m a s h è s h a 💨 (@_mashesha) January 2, 2024
Asavela #Loadshedding iPlan Mnike Mnike Khuzani Malema pic.twitter.com/fvUk1wJnic
Rise Mzansi’s chief organiser, Makashule Gana said this would not bode well for businesses, as they would be forced to run expensive generators or consider investing in alternative energy sources.
“But tragically, this is not the case for many small businesses, which will be forced to bring their businesses to a halt during the hours that the power is off, as they simply cannot afford to spend money doing the job of government – keeping the lights on,” he said.
ActionSA leader Herman Mashaba said his party was outraged by the move, especially when South Africa’s public finances were under severe strain.
Mashaba accused President Cyril Ramaphosa, Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa, and Eskom of ignoring the Gauteng High Court’s judgment on load shedding, instead choosing to appeal it.
The judgment declared load shedding unconstitutional and ordered Ramokgopa, together with the organs of State, to ensure that electricity supply is ensured for public schools, hospitals, and the South African Police Service (SAPS).
He said ActionSA will continue to fight to protect the most vulnerable South Africans from the failures of the ruling party and will take whatever steps necessary to ensure that the government is held accountable.
The Democratic Alliance’s (DA) Samantha Graham-Maré said the return of rolling blackouts was a clear indication that they should rescue South Africa from the ANC.
Graham-Maré vowed to intensify their fight against load shedding to even higher levels, using every means at their disposal in Parliament, courts, and on the streets.
kamogelo.moichela@inl.co.za
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