South Durban community members take a stand against tariff hikes, load-shedding
SDCEA and other members of the community held a peaceful picket outside the Eskom offices to voice their concerns over tariff increases.
CONCERNED about the negative impact that tariff increases and load-shedding has had on communities, the South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA), together with community members, held a peaceful picket outside the Eskom offices in Westville on November 23.
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Kershni Ramreddi, SDCEA’s Just Transition and Energy project officer, said residents from Merebank, Wentworth, uMlazi and KwaMakhutha stood outside the gates to let their voices be heard.
“The tariff hikes have left an extremely negative impact on many people in South Africa and pose a challenge on communities as many people are facing financial troubles, especially with interest rates having soared nearly 5% since late 2021. Furthermore, people cannot afford these price hikes when the economy is growing at a rate lower than 1% annually.
“SDCEA is an environmental justice organisation, fighting for the rights of the people and the environment. It is our duty to advocate for a sustainable future, and in doing so, the voices of people need to be heard,” she said.
Ramreddi said people have experienced load-shedding daily for the last few years as a result of Eskom’s inability to keep the power stations operational.
“Further to this, the eThekwini Municipality has not maintained power substations, as well as provided infrastructure to poor households for access to energy and water. For the foreseeable future, load-shedding and extreme electricity price inflation will be a fact of life for all of us,” she said.
Ramreddi said that among the most vulnerable are schoolchildren, those working in the agriculture and tourism industries, public hospitals, small businesses and other essential sectors.
“South Africans will likely have to put up with stages two and three load-shedding for the next two years to allow Eskom to perform maintenance on its entire industry. In spite of the suffering, both Eskom and NERSA have collectively made it challenging to pay for the tariff increases.
“These challenges further impact the livelihoods of people, so ensure poverty. People are also forced to look at alternatives for a clean and healthy life,” she said.
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