WATCH | Thousands march in Cape Town against load-shedding

26 January 2023 - 07:04
By TANYA STEENKAMP

Thousands of people took to the streets of Cape Town on Wednesday to protest against load-shedding and the 18.65% electricity tariff increase.

The DA-led #PowerToThePeopleMarch was also attended by other parties such as the ACDP and the Cape Independence Party. The increase was announced by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) earlier this month.

DA federal chairperson Ivan Meyer said Cape Town will become the first city to end load-shedding. Earlier this week the DA announced it would pay anyone cash who sells power back to the city and incentivise businesses and individuals to install solar power. This is part of numerous initiatives by the DA to end load-shedding in the Cape.

The increase will be implemented from April this year. At the recent ANC Free State conference, President Cyril Ramaphosa asked Eskom not to implement the increase. However, Eskom is legally bound to implement the tariff hike set by Nersa.

The UDM, Build One South Africa and Numsa have filed court papers seeking to have the increase set aside.

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