Stage 4 load-shedding 'proudly brought to you by cadre deployment', says DA

The DA has reacted to Eskom continuing with stage 4 load-shedding, claiming it's been brought upon the country by the ANC's cadre deployment.

This week, Eskom announced that stage 4 load-shedding will continue from 5am on Monday until midnight on Wednesday. 

The power utility said this was due to “unlawful industrial action” at various Eskom power stations which impacted planned maintenance and repairs, and at some stations the full complement of workers have not reported for duty.

“As a result, unplanned generation losses have not been reduced as planned, which has compelled Eskom to continue taking precautionary measures to conserve generation capacity and safeguard plants from damage,” said Eskom.

Currently, about 4,000MW of generation capacity is at risk due to the illegal strike action.

“It is therefore necessary to replenish emergency generation reserves to be able to react to unforeseen circumstances. Adequate emergency reserves are crucial to assist with the generation deficit while dealing with generating units that may trip owing to unlawful action, and to compensate for the inability to return generating units timeously to service,” it said.

In a statement, the DA called on Eskom to exercise its rights as an essential services provider and approach the labour court to interdict the strike action.

“The striking workers are not only interrupting the operations of power generation plants, they are also 'endangering the life, health or personal safety of the whole or part of the population’ by increasing the risk of high levels of load-shedding,” said the DA

“In terms of the Labour Relations Act, and through its designation as an essential service provider, Eskom is exempt from giving notice to the striking workers on its intention to approach the labour court for an interdict.”

To protect critical infrastructure, the party said Eskom should make a direct application to the labour court seeking an immediate stop to strike action at its plants.

“SA’s electricity generation ecosystem is already teetering over the edge and we simply cannot afford to have acts of sabotage worsen the crisis. Eskom infrastructure, even under its current state of strain, remains the lifeblood of the economy and should not be deliberately interfered with.

“This chimes with the DA's call for a state of disaster to be declared around Eskom and would represent an incremental step towards the realisation of what is required to fix what we have to keep the lights on for businesses, industry and ordinary citizens.”

On social media, many expressed their frustrations at the blackouts, saying load-shedding during winter “felt personal”. Here is a snapshot of some of the reactions:

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