LUKHONA MNGUNI | Dear Mayor, I and many others reject the R230 electricity tariff

Political analyst and City of Johannesburg resident Lukhona Mnguni has joined the outcry over the City of Johannesburg's imposition of a fixed levy on prepaid electricity customers, penning an open letter to mayor Kabelo Gwamanda.
While the city this week said it would take the tariff under view due to the volley of objections it received, City Power says it is deducting payments until and unless a different decision is taken.
“Please take us seriously as residents of this city, otherwise you will not rest. I and many others reject the R230 electricity tariff,” he said, sharing the letter on X:
Dear Mayor of Johannesburg,
I note that the municipality convened its 28th extraordinary council [on Tuesday].
The meeting took place at a time when we, as the prepaid electricity households of the city, are outraged by the newly introduced fixed service charge of R200, which translates to R230 when VAT is included. This is a typical instance of an institution punishing those who pay to make up for those debts they cannot recoup from those who do not pay, particularly mega postpaid customers.
I am not going to write a lengthy letter, just to save your time. You are busy person. Busy informing us, arrogantly, that these rates are here to stay. Thank you.
There is clearly one direction for the residents of this dilapidated city, to resist. Our resistance is here to stay. We will take to the streets if we must. Some prepaid customers are not maxed out and we are literally getting no value for our money. When I pay R500, I get a standard 142kWh, it does not matter what time of the month or how many times a month. There is no sliding scale here. Now add your R230 and see how much one must pay.
There is a misplaced idea this is focused on some classes of people. In this country we have never agreed on the different classes of people, definitions nor categorisations. Even those of us who may appear to earn “handsomely” are under a lot of pressure on households, food inflation, remittances to as far as the villages of eNgqwabeni in Flagstaff to supporting friends who are bereaved or celebrating (which is the natural in-community thing to do) in their moments of needing meaningful company.
These acts of increasing our cost of living arbitrarily are now affecting our ability to be humane and to enjoy some little things we can in life. One may ask, what is R230? For some it is the cost of getting to work in a week or the cost of packaging lunch for their little children per week. It is not even the cost of refilling a 9kg gas cylinder in cold Johannesburg for those who have the privilege to keep warm. It is not your business what R230 is, but for the residents it is a big deal.
Enjoy your meeting, consider reversing this silly tariff. The unit cost of electricity should consider the entire value chain of its generation, transmission, distribution, and their attendant cost. You are doing us no justice and injustice shall be met with clear acts of resistance.
Nisiqhela kakubi (you are disrespecting us).
- Lukhona Mnguni, resident in Ward 132 of the City of Johannesburg.
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