Eskom’s load-shedding in Standerton hugely affects residents
“We thus call on the premier to live up to her 2019-promise of reducing our dependence on Eskom and trying to secure alternative sources of energy.”
Refilwe Mtshweni-Tsipane Mpumalanga premier, fails to address the dependence on Eskom. This is the viewpoint of Bosman Grobler, DA spokesperson on Finance and Economic Development.
According to a statement dated December 6, the DA has called on the premier, asking her to work with Independent Power Producers (IPPs) to boost energy generating capacity which will also help reduce the alarming unemployment rate in the province.
“Mpumalanga’s indefinite dependence on Eskom is cause for grave concern, especially given the premier’s empty promises of alternative energy solutions during previous States of the Province Addresses,” Grobler said.
“The DA also finds it concerning that while Mpumalanga is bleeding jobs in energy intensive sectors, there has been no contingency plan to deal with the effects of both load-shedding and load reduction.”
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According to the statement, the agricultural survey which was recently released by Statistics South Africa reiterated the effects of load-shedding and load reduction on the agricultural sector in the province.
The survey also noted that there was a decrease in the number of employed persons in the sector by 3.6% or 2 537 jobs.
The quarterly labour force survey for the third quarter of 2023 also reiterated the effects of load-shedding on energy intensive industries and the agricultural sector as well.
The report noted that between April to June and July to September the agricultural sector shed 14 000 jobs or 13.7% and the mining sector shed 7 000 jobs or 10.7%.
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Bosman concluded by saying being cognisant of the above job losses and the fact that the manufacturing sector also shed 30 000 jobs (24.6%) year on year, it can never be business as usual.
“We thus call on the premier to live up to her 2019-promise of reducing our dependence on Eskom and trying to secure alternative sources of energy.”
Read the articles on Lekwa being admitted to a Debt Relief Programme by Eskom and the Christmas message from the mayor elsewhere in the newspaper. The past week residents had to deal with the power utility doing maintenance work on a transformer as well.
Taking into account that cable theft also occurred at the intersection of Mbonani Mayisela Street and Paarl Street, electricians had their work cut out for them.
Electricity was not restored in all areas and locals made enquiries on a WhatsApp-group.Water supply was also affected since the pumps rely on power supply.
The communications department indicated however, that the water treatment plant would have been prioritised.
