Rolling blackouts and electricity hikes fuels calls for a national shutdown

A national shutdown by fed-up South Africans over load-shedding, unemployment, corruption and the 18,65% electricity increase, is looming, amid calls for President Cyril Ramaphosa’s head.

Indefinite stage 6 load-shedding coupled with the announcement of a massive hike in electricity costs has spurred a call for a national shutdown on February 9, which is trending on social media platforms such as Twitter. 

It isn’t immediately clear who is responsible for the protest action. 

A wide-circulated notice states: “Remember. February 9 is national shut down day.

“Tell your family, tell your friends 2024 is too far! People are losing their jobs, having their homes taken.”

“Every town must have its own coordinator and the main march must be in Cape Town, where the people will march to the state of the nation event — where politicians and their partners will be wearing glittering fashion while we suffer in darkness.

“We have the power ... we must not listen to that speech, we will be protesting and having town meetings ...

“We need to advise premiers of provinces to accept the memorandums or face removal.”

Politicians from opposing parties are also using the national shutdown hashtag to express their positions on the electricity crisis.

Patriotic Alliance head, Gayton McKenzie, said in a Twitter post: “The success of the #NationalShutdown would be dependent on it being depoliticised. You are first a citizen before you are a member of a political party and load-shedding affects all citizens, even those among us who are off grid. Let’s protest together as South Africans.”

DA leader John Steehuisen slammed the 18,65% increase during a visit to Pietermaritzburg on Saturday.

He said the party plans to challenge the move by seeking an interdict against the energy regulator and staging a mass march to the ANC headquarters at Luthuli House in Johannesburg on January 25.

“I think it’s time we let this government know we are tired of paying for its corruption, maladministration and cadre deployment. We are not going to accept the 18.65% increase,” said Steenhuisen, adding it would mean a 33% increase over the next two years.

Fed-up South Africans have also lent their voices to the #NationalShutdown call.

“The president’s hands are tied because he doesn’t have to sit in the dark, he doesn’t have to get out a cab when it’s pitch black and run for his life because of the high crime-rate, his hands are tied because he doesn’t care,” said one Twitter user.

“We need to march, not only for electricity but also for crime, for unemployment, for food price increases, we are too quiet in this country, hope this will not end on here, a clear message needs to go across to those leading the country, its enough #NationalShutdown.”

SA Federation of Trade Unions said the electricity tariff hike, “will devastate the budgets of poor and working people, especially women, and Eskom’s strategy is still aimed at generation privatisation without genuine decarbonisation.

“This latest tariff increase should be looked at from a long-term perspective.

“Combined with increases in the past 15 years, the electricity tariff is more than 800% higher than 2007.

“Hence electricity has become unaffordable for poor and working-class people. We are especially angry that it is South African women, who mainly take care of our homes, cooking and child-rearing, who must resort to supplementing electricity with firewood, coal, paraffin and gas stoves and heaters. Alternatives to electricity may be cheaper in the short-term but they create indoor air pollution, which is much costlier to health in the medium-term.

“These tariff hikes are the main contributor to the ever-rising cost of living. In 2022, the average food expenses for a household of four grew by more than R400 to an estimated total of R4,853, while electricity consumption of 350 kWh increased by R50 to a total of R787.50 according to the Household Affordability Index,” said Saftu.

“Paying for food and electricity now costs way more than the national minimum wage earned by about half of the workforce in the country. Additionally, workers’ wages are being suppressed across the economy, and consequently, even the wages of those earning above the national minimum wage are losing their buying power.

“This means any increases in the costs of electricity and food, fuel, transport, hygiene products and so on, is making the living conditions of ordinary workers worse and unaffordable. Even for so-called middle-income earners, 80% of their salaries are depleted within five days of receiving the income due to the rising cost of living.”

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