Pretoria - Members of the Azanian People’s Organisation (Azapo) have staged a sit-in at the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) in Pretoria. The party’s protest against the recent Eskom tariff increase has seen its deputy president Kekeletso Khena and others participating in a sit-in at the offices of the energy regulator since Sunday.
The sit-in comes a week after Nersa granted Eskom's revenue application of 18.65% after lengthy deliberations by the electricity subcommittee.
It is reported that households and businesses will be paying for this increase as early as April 2023.
Eskom initially applied for a massive electricity hike in June, amounting to a recovery of R351 billion from Eskom's standard and non-standard tariff customers. Nersa subsequently signed off on R318 billion, which equates to an 18.65% tariff increase.
In a statement, Azapo said it is disgusted by the 18.65% approval of the electricity tariff increase granted to Eskom by the energy regulator as South Africans continue to suffer rising costs of living while the country has been plunged into total darkness since the start of the year.
“Azapo is disgusted by the 18.65% increase in the electricity tariffs granted by Nersa. The reactionary decision comes at the time when Eskom’s failure to produce reliable electricity has collapsed the country’s economy, resulting in lower productivity levels, a rise in unemployment, and increased food prices. Eskom has literally made Azanians/South Africans poorer and worsened the socio-economic situation in the country.
The party said it is against this background that they have decided on a sit-in protest as Nersa has proven to have colluded with Eskom in approving these tariff increases without feeling the pain of ordinary South Africans.
“While we make Nersa home for the next few days or weeks, Nersa has set aside the irresponsible increase granted to Eskom. Our people cannot reward incompetence and full collapse of the economy. We know Nersa colludes with Eskom. They told us as much in our engagements with them. Let us expose the lies as stage 6 is part of the unbundling/privatisation plans,” Khena said.
The sit-in comes at a time when other political parties and civil society groups like #StandupSA on social media have been granted permission to march to Eskom’s Megawatt Park in Sunninghill over the Eskom crisis while the DA is preparing their own protests against Eskom set for Luthuli House next Wednesday.