‘Stage 6 takes your power, take the ANC’s power’ – DA protest confirmed

Democratic Alliance (DA) leader, John Steenhuisen, said the party is organising a ‘major march’ to protest against load shedding and tariff increases.

The country is currently buckling under the impact of stage 6 load shedding, and to add insult to injury, Eskom will be allowed an electricity tariff of 18.65%.

DA’s energy crisis protest

On Saturday, Steenhuisen confirmed that his party is “organising a major protest march to the ANC headquarters at Luthuli House in Johannesburg on 25 January”.

‘Take the ANC’s power’

He said the protest is “against the ANC-engineered electricity crisis”.

Stage 6 load shedding has taken away your power. It is time to take away the ANC’s power.

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Steenhuisen said South Africans wouldn’t be able to survive an electricity tariff increase of 18.65%, especially not since the “ongoing stage 6 load-shedding costs SA R4 billion a day.”

‘Reject tariff increase’

He said the tariff increase must be rejected because it will “only worsen the cost of living crisis”.

On Friday, Steenhuisen said: “It’s time to hit the streets SA! We can’t sit back and take hyper-inflationary increases!”

He added: “Far too many citizens are barely able to keep their heads above water. This 18.65% Nersa increase is like a government jackboot pushing more of us under the surface.”

I can announce that the DA is organising a major protest march to the ANC headquarters at Luthuli House in Johannesburg on 25 January against the ANC-engineered electricity crisis. Stage 6 load shedding has taken away your power. It is time to take away the ANC’s.

— John Steenhuisen MP (@jsteenhuisen) January 14, 2023

Open letter to Ramaphosa

Steenhuisen also requested to meet with President Cyril Ramaphosa regarding the “deepening electricity crisis”.

In an open letter addressed to the president, Steenhuisen wrote: “I would like to understand the reason for the failure, to date, to implement meaningful reforms to the energy sector”.

Steenhuisen said South Africa does not have the “built-in resilience” to survive stage 6 load shedding.

Furthermore, he wants to understand why the ANC “has been so lethargic and conservative in its response to this catastrophe”.

Eskom’s electricity tariff increase of 18.65% must be rejected. This comes on the back of the ongoing stage 6 loadshedding that costs SA R4 billion a day. This will only worsen the cost of living crisis. I urge the President to meet with me to discuss a way out of this mess.

— John Steenhuisen MP (@jsteenhuisen) January 12, 2023

Load shedding solutions

Steenhuisen said there are five important interventions required to stave off South Africa’s electricity crisis (as previously presented to the president).

These measures are as follows:

1. Unbundle Eskom into separate generation, transmission and distribution entities and open the market to private power producers.
2. Appoint skilled engineers and stop political interference.
3. Declare the ring-fenced State of Disaster to exempt Eskom from all obstacles to efficient spending and rapid decision-making.
4. Ramp up security at all key Eskom sites and deal harshly with saboteurs.
5. Do everything possible to enable private generation to come online as soon as possible (such as lifting the 100MW cap).

Steenhuisen concluded: “South Africans are desperate for a sign that there could be an end to this crisis. Our own voters ask us daily what is being done and when they can expect some form of relief.

“I need to know what to tell them, and so I respectfully ask that you meet with me for a thorough discussion of the issue”.