Democratic Alliance (DA) Leader, Mmusi Maimane and DA Shadow Minister of Public Enterprises, Natasha Mazzone at Nkululeko House, Johannesburg, 25 March 2019. They briefed media about their day of action planned for the 29th March aimed at protesting the crisis at Eskom and their request that Parliament reconvenes to create an ad Hoc committee to plan the way forward regarding the Eskom crisis, as well as outlined plans that they have which they believe could help with this crisis. Picture: Neil McCartney
The Democratic Alliance is hoping for the support of all South Africans as it leads a national mass action to try to force the ANC-led government to act on the current power crisis and what the party believes is an imminent collapse of the country’s national energy grid.
DA leader Mmusi Maimane said the crisis was caused by the ruling party’s years of corruption, looting and mismanagement of Eskom.
The mass action has been scheduled for Friday and is planned to involve many communities across the country.
“As when we came together to take a stand against [former president] Jacob Zuma and the capture of our state, Friday will see citizens showing this ANC government that we have the power,” Maimane said.
Earlier, in an opinion piece, human rights lawyer Cheri Rudd from Rudd Attorneys suggested that load shedding unlawfully limited several constitutional rights.
“There is no right to electricity in the constitution, although it has become an integral part of daily life, that does not, however, mean that the alleged unlawful activities involving Eskom have not violated the constitution,” Rudd said.
Rudd further implied that what happened at Eskom, as heard in the Commission of Inquiry into State Capture, chaired by Deputy Chief Justice Raymond Zondo, fitted the South African common law definition of treason.
According to Rudd, it fell under the definition of “violating, threatening or endangering the existence, independence or security of the Republic” or “changing the constitutional structure of the Republic”.
Rudd said the power cuts interfered with constitutional rights, like the right to life and healthcare services, as unstable power supply could be fatal to those undergoing emergency treatment and surgery.
It also interfered with the freedom and security of people due to increased crime during blackouts, freedom of access to sufficient water as pumps fail to run, freedom of access to education due to insufficient or no light and an environment that was not harmful as a result of the use of generators that pollute the air and cause noise.
– ericn@citizen.co.za
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