Durban - Three municipalities under the control of the ANC in KwaZulu-Natal, say they will heed the call by the party’s provincial office to legally challenge the steep increases in the electricity tariff which have been approved by the National Energy Regulator of SA (Nersa).
This after Nersa approved an 18.65% tariff increase this financial year and an increase of 12.74% for the 2023/24 financial year.
The ANC in eThekwini Municipality said it has instructed the City’s legal department to look into how it could challenge the tariff increase, while Msunduzi Municipality said it would solicit public support from its residents in the event it had to go to court against Nersa.
ANC provincial secretary Bheki Mtolo said recently that the party’s Provincial Executive Committee (PEC) unanimously rejected the tariff hikes.
“We will ask ANC municipalities in KZN, including those who are licence holders, to take legal action against Nersa and Eskom to get a court to review and set aside this decision.”
ANC councillor in eThekwini Nkosenhle Madlala said they had instructed the municipality’s legal team to seek a legal opinion on the prospect of success if the municipality challenged the decision by Nersa in court.
“The province (ANC PEC) is right in making this call, but we are a municipality and we are governed by statutes. That is why we have told the legal department to get a legal opinion.”
Madlala said this decision would drive communities to “living in the dark” as even those who received free electricity as part of the free basic services (under the indigent policy) had said the amount they received was not enough.
Sphe Ngobese, spokesperson for the KwaDukuza Municipality’s mayoral office, said the PEC proposal was being considered by the municipality.
“The municipality has noted the statement by the ANC and is considering this,” he said, revealing that the mayor was expected to raise the matter by tabling a report. We are going to follow the directive of the party and if needs be we will also be mobilising civil society,” he said.
Msunduzi mayor Mzimkhulu Thebolla said they would follow the directive given by the ANC, saying they had already taken a position to engage Nersa and if needs be, to challenge the issue in court.
“President Cyril Ramaphosa had asked Nersa to delay the implementation of these tariffs. We have taken a decision as Msunduzi to engage with Nersa to delay implementing that decision. We are going to be engaging with the residents of the municipality to solicit their support should we need to go to court,” said Thebolla.
He added that the municipality’s own proposal to implement cost reflective tariffs which would have seen tariffs rise over a few years had been rejected.
He said they were told to charge in accordance with the inflation rate.
“We know that businesses are closing because of load shedding, people are losing their jobs and those still employed are spending more and more as the cost of living increases,” said Thebolla.