THE South Durban Community Environmental Alliance (SDCEA), an environmental justice organisation, will host a march in partnership with south Durban residents and various other organisations, to highlight the effects of power outages.
The march, which will include the handover of a memorandum, will be held on May 26, from Speakers Corner (45 Bram Fischer Road) to the Durban City Hall from 09:00.
SDCEA’s energy and just transition project officer, Kershni Ramreddi, said it is the duty of SDCEA to advocate for a sustainable future and added that the voices of over 5 000 people who are expected to attend the march will play an important role in creating change.
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“Load-shedding is a reality that we must all deal with for the foreseeable future. Unfortunately, the frequent daily power outages have had an impact on numerous industries across the nation.
“The most vulnerable members of the community are impacted by load-shedding, including schoolchildren, those working in the agriculture and tourism industries, public hospitals, small businesses, and other essential sectors.
“Small businesses frequently miss deadlines, put up with unfavorable circumstances, and experience consumer dissatisfaction. Load-shedding has a significant impact on hospitals and healthcare professionals as well. Sadly, when load-shedding occurs, many public hospitals are unable to deliver quality medical care. Although many people have generators for back-up electricity, this is not a sustainable alternative,” said Ramreddi.
Speaking about Eskom and the National Energy Regulator of South Africa’s (Nersa) collective decision to increase the tariff price by 18.65% as of July 1, Ramreddi said this will pose as a major challenge to communities.
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“People are already facing financial difficulties and cannot afford these price hikes which are exponentially growing as compared to our economy. We have hosted multiple meetings on the electricity crisis, and people have shared their frustrations, while evidently producing their ridiculously high electricity bills.
“The city is on a road show presenting its R66 billion budget for the 2023/ 24 financial year. We expect the mayor of Durban, KZN premier’s office, eThekwini Municipality, Eskom, DMRE and Nersa, to conduct a thorough review of the proposed tariff increases and their potential impact on households, especially those already struggling with unemployment and poverty.
“Engagements need to be held with Eskom and other relevant stakeholders to prioritise service delivery and find immediate solutions to reduce load-shedding and improve overall reliability.
“Options to provide compensation or relief measures for the losses incurred by households due to damaged perishable goods during power outages also need to be explored.
“The importance of fulfilling the promises made regarding free basic needs and ensure that the most vulnerable members of society are not disproportionately affected by these tariff increases needs to be reinforced. An alternative energy by moving to a just transition also needs to be implemented,” Ramreddi added.
For more information, contact Kershni Ramreddi on 084 583 1232.
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