Planned march to Union Buildings over electricity tariff hike

#NotInMyName and partners plan to march to the Union Buildings this Friday to protest Nersa’s authorisation of the recent electricity tariff hike.

The local civil rights movement says in light of the recent developments concerning electricity, Eskom and load-shedding, many South Africans are suffering from the “bystander effect” and that more needs to be done to rectify the current situation.

“Following the announcement of the tariff hike authorised by Nersa, South Africans have expressed how crestfallen they are at the mismanagement of state resources, particularly where load-shedding is concerned,” it said in a statement.

“#NotInMyName has identified an unfortunate pattern called the ‘bystander effect’, where some South Africans’ stance is not to act because of the assumption that silence yields similar results. We caution them against this self-fulfilling prophecy, which fuels the injustices perpetuated by the oppressor,” the movement said.

The march will be joined by members of the Mamelodi Nellmapius Eersterust (MNE) Stakeholders Forum and is expected to start at 08:30 in Church Square, central Pretoria.

Some of the demands being made by the stakeholders include:
– Declaring a National State of Disaster over power crisis
– Issuing a moratorium on coal exports and salary increases until load-shedding is resolved
– Provide SA with weekly “Family Meeting” updates
– Stave-off Nersa’s tariff hike

“What is significant to remember is that if South Africans silently agree to pay more to receive less electricity, it is like funding load-shedding itself; like being an advocate of their own misfortune,” the movement concluded.

Do you have more information about the story?

Please send us an email to editorial@rekord.co.za or phone us on 083 625 4114.

For free breaking and community news, visit Rekord’s websites: Rekord East

For more news and interesting articles, like Rekord on Facebook, follow us on Twitter or Instagram