During the apartheid era, townships had no electricity. It was normal but unacceptable. After the dawn of the new democracy, black areas were electrified. There was a light at the end of the tunnel. Fast forward to today.
The country is suffering from electricity blackouts. And some white areas are not affected. It's like in the olden days. The more things change, the more they remain the same. This year, we've had more loadshedding than any other year.
Eskom CEO Andre de Ruyter is already talking about stage 15. In simple terms, things are going to get worse. That means there is no end in sight. Eskom is demanding a 32% annual tariff increment. For what exactly, when the power utility is failing to keep the lights on?
I hope this time Nersa will turn down Eskom's request, more so that its board and management never accept responsibility.
Because of that, blackouts stand to continue even if management was changed, as has happened in the past. Interestingly, the positions of two cabinet ministers responsible for Eskom are not threatened, despite there are growing calls for them to be sacked.
In a normal democracy, the ministers would have tendered their resignations voluntarily.
Strangely, Eskom loadshed public hospitals, putting the lives of patients at risk until healthworkers demanded that hospitals be exempted. Health minister Joe Phaahla has since announced that 37 hospitals across the country will be exempted from load-shedding.
On the other hand, there is a rumour that some ANC MPs and leaders are excluded from loadshedding. If that is real, then it would be hypocrisy of the highest order by Eskom and governing party leaders.
Load-shedding has been going on for more than eight years. It has affected many businesses and contributed to the high unemployment rate. But the government is not treating this matter with a sense of urgency. This shows that there is no political will to end loadshedding.
Thabile Mange, Mogale City
