The constitution gives the party the tools to implement its own power plan
It’s hard to imagine living in an SA without load-shedding. Just like crime, corruption and unemployment, many of us have sadly resigned ourselves to the apparent fact that load-shedding will be with us until we vote the ANC out of national government.I believe it is entirely possible for municipalities to end load-shedding for their residents, even before we get an overhaul in national government and serious changes to the structure of Eskom.
Eskom’s supply issues are due to well-documented corruption, maladministration and incompetence, both inside the utility and among its contractors. Eskom is R402bn in debt. If it was a private company, it would have been liquidated years ago; instead, it is kept on life support through the abuse of taxpayers’ money.
Ending reliance on Eskom means more jobs, and more wealth in the economy. It also means electricity can be purchased from IPPs using cleaner methods, especially wind and solar. This will mean a healthier population and a better future for our planet. If energy minister Gwede Mantashe — who often acts more like a lobbyist for dirty coal than an energy minister — continues to stand in our way, we will not hesitate to test the boundaries of local government power in SA. The constitution provides in section 156 that “a municipality has the right to exercise any power concerning a matter reasonably necessary for, or incidental to, the effective performance of its functions”.
Residents and business owners who wish to generate their own electricity will, furthermore, be empowered to trade their excess supply via the city’s network. We are looking at mechanisms like rates incentives to encourage residents to become clean producers, rather than consumers, of electricity.
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