The African National Congress Women’s League (ANCWL) is calling on power utility Eskom to extend the deadline for electricity prepaid meter upgrades and opposes the R12,000 fee for replacing meters.
This comes as the original deadline for paying prepaid customers to upgrade their meters has passed on Sunday, November 24.
Over the past days, scores of people rushed to Eskom's offices and community halls trying to beat the meter upgrade deadline.
This however, has resulted in claiming a life of a man in Orlando, Soweto, who died while in the queue waiting to be assisted, while others collapsed due to scorching heat.
Some residents said they had slept at the centres to secure a spot, while others expressed that they had to wake up as early as 4.am to queue for the meter upgrade.
Eskom has since extended the upgrade deadline for non-paying prepaid customers and those who have illegally tampered with their meters to steal electricity.
While many have since called for Eskom to extend the deadline, Minister of Electricity and Energy Kgosientsho Ramokgopa said that an extension would not be possible due to technical reasons.
Meanwhile, the ANC Women’s League has joined the call for demanding an extension, with the league’s secretary-general Nokuthula Nqaba arguing that people from disadvantaged areas were not given enough time to upgrade their meters. The upgrade initiative has been known about for at least two years.
“The ANC Women's League demand that Eskom must extend this deadline to give ample time for destitute communities who do not have the luxury to have received their initial warning of the current situation.”
Nqaba expressed a concern that many Eskom customers did not have access to the internet, which led to millions of people not being aware of the deadline to upgrade their meters.
“It is therefore our demand that Eskom extend this deadline and make a comprehensive awareness drive through traditional communication platforms accessible to all, such as broad public awareness through community radio stations, public meetings and other national media platforms,” Nqaba said.
Nqaba said the women’s league strongly rejects the R12,000 fee for replacing a meter - a consequence of not upgrading the meter before the deadline, which renders the meter inoperable.
“This is against the principles of Ubuntu as the majority of our people depend on social grants which cannot settle this amount, even in instalments.”
“The ANC Women's League renounces this proposition,” Nqaba said.
IOL News