Eskom implemented 22-hour power cuts in Parys

[Hanno Labuschagne]

Eskom implemented 22-hour power cuts in Parys

Eskom has lost an appeal in the Supreme Court of Appeal (SCA) against a ruling in favour of two community associations that it must immediately restore full maximum electricity supply to residents.

The Vaal River Development Association, representing communities in Parys and Vredefort in the Ngwathe municipality, and Lekwa Ratepayers’ Association NPC, representing residents of Standerton, Sakhile, Meyerville and surrounds in the Lekwa Municipality, obtained the interim interdict in the Pretoria High Court last year.

This was ahead of a pending application to review Eskom’s decision to reduce supply because the municipalities were over-using power and collectively owed it more than R2 billion.

[GroundUp]

 

[Danie_V]

I can understand why the ruling was made against Eskom on humanitarian grounds and that paying consumers are affected, but at the same time there should have been an equal or greater pressure applied to those municipalities to pay what they owe to ensure adequate service delivery etc. So the consumers are in the right, and Eskom has now been forced to "right" their side, but what of the rotten apple in the middle between the two?

 

[Mike Hoxbig]

I can understand why the ruling was made against Eskom on humanitarian grounds and that paying consumers are affected, but at the same time there should have been an equal or greater pressure applied to those municipalities to pay what they owe to ensure adequate service delivery etc. So the consumers are in the right, and Eskom has now been forced to "right" their side, but what of the rotten apple in the middle between the two?

Cut the municipalities out and supply customers directly. Not sure why they haven't been doing it all this time in the first place...

 

[ToxicBunny]

Cut the municipalities out and supply customers directly. Not sure why they haven't been doing it all this time in the first place...

For me the courts actually need to come up with a workable option for both sides, where the residents/businesses can get the power they so desperately need and the municipality is cut out of the Electricity revenue portion somehow.

Yes, the easy option is for Eskom to just take over all the infrastructure, but I think the courts MIGHT be overstepping their mandate if they tried to do that, so potentially some sort of trust account that the municipality can't touch but can view and Eskom can retrieve monies from it maybe....

 

[deweyzeph]

Cut the municipalities out and supply customers directly. Not sure why they haven't been doing it all this time in the first place...

I've been saying this for ages as well. This would be a fair and equitable outcome for everyone involved. Paying customers get their electricity and Eskom gets its money. The municipalities can go screw themselves.

 

[WollieVerstege]

For me the courts actually need to come up with a workable option for both sides, where the residents/businesses can get the power they so desperately need and the municipality is cut out of the Electricity revenue portion somehow.

Yes, the easy option is for Eskom to just take over all the infrastructure, but I think the courts MIGHT be overstepping their mandate if they tried to do that, so potentially some sort of trust account that the municipality can't touch but can view and Eskom can retrieve monies from it maybe....

In SA the only option is to go full attack against the municipality. The rate payers association in the one municipality I own property did absolutely everything. From face-to-face meetings to outright legal challenges. Finally ended up campaigning against the incumbent during the 2nd to last local government elections. Only when they realised that they can lose control of the piggy bank did things start to change. We are seeing them starting to slip again, but are already onnit - for our own sake.

Problem is most people just want to sit and complain, saying things like: "O, I shouldn't have to do this / Afriforum or OUTA should be fighting this / Everything worked before". Until people wake up and take action nothing will change for them.

 

[ToxicBunny]

In SA the only option is to go full attack against the municipality. The rate payers association in the one municipality I own property did absolutely everything. From face-to-face meetings to outright legal challenges. Finally ended up campaigning against the incumbent during the 2nd to last local government elections. Only when they realised that they can lose control of the piggy bank did things start to change. We are seeing them starting to slip again, but are already onnit - for our own sake.

Problem is most people just want to sit and complain, saying things like: "O, I shouldn't have to do this / Afriforum or OUTA should be fighting this / Everything worked before". Until people wake up and take action nothing will change for them.

100% agreed on the residents needing to get stuck in and tackle the problem as well.

The problem is of course many residents don't have the time/resources to take on a big municipality who just delay delay delay and obfuscate the fsck out of everything.

 

[WollieVerstege]

100% agreed on the residents needing to get stuck in and tackle the problem as well.

The problem is of course many residents don't have the time/resources to take on a big municipality who just delay delay delay and obfuscate the fsck out of everything.

Absolutely. That was why the rate payer association in this instance was so helpful - it was actually spawned from a neighbourhood watch meeting. I think with the advent of social media, and things like crowd funding, it can be very easy at least to mobilise the community to some extent, but yeah, you still need someone to take the time.

 

[Polymathic]

The French must be pissed

 

[Sapphiron]

can they not cut the power to all municipal buildings until the outstanding account is settled?

If it can't be settled, we need a system where non-functional municipalities to be declare insolvent and placed under administration by a board of only local community members.

 

[Paul_S]

Problem is most people just want to sit and complain, saying things like: "O, I shouldn't have to do this / Afriforum or OUTA should be fighting this / Everything worked before". Until people wake up and take action nothing will change for them.

Those of us who don't have the time and energy to fight legal battles for years on end just install solar and drill boreholes and let the municipality fall to pieces. It's a lot less hassle than trying to get rid of thieves and people's socialist mindsets which keep their thieving buddies in power.

It may not be the right way to handle it but once the piggy bank runs empty the harsh reality may cause a bit of a reset. Getting to the bottom of the barrel faster may be the better option than dragging the process out by plugging "leaks" through legal action.

 

[flytek]

ANC will steal everything they can lay their hands on till there is nothing left and all infrastructure has fallen apart. Build your own is the only long term solution or move to WC where the thieving is somewhat balanced by actual service of some sort.

 

[Arthur]

As an aside, I'm very strongly of the view that it's not the job of the courts to solve problems or come up with solutions. It's critical to the integrity of the separation of powers doctrine at the heart of our Constitution that the courts confine themselves to deciding matters of law. The responsibility for solving municipal service issues lies squarely with the national, provincial and local legislatures and executives. Not the courts.

 

[Dan C]

The French must be pissed

Daar is 'n lelike ding wat kopwys
In Parys
Iets heeltemal anders as 'n bike race
Of 'n kopluis
Of by bachelor parties muis wys

 

[ToxicBunny]

As an aside, I'm very strongly of the view that it's not the job of the courts to solve problems or come up with solutions. It's critical to the integrity of the separation of powers doctrine at the heart of our Constitution that the courts confine themselves to deciding matters of law. The responsibility for solving municipal service issues lies squarely with the national, provincial and local legislatures and executives. Not the courts.

Until such time as all those levels prove utterly incompetent, and then the courts actually need to step in and direct the relevant layer to do its fscking job.

 

[Arthur]

Until such time as all those levels prove utterly incompetent, and then the courts actually need to step in and direct the relevant layer to do its fscking job.

They can't. There's no law or constitutional principle that empowers them to do so.

 

[ToxicBunny]

They can't. There's no law or constitutional principle that empowers them to do so.

Depends on how you view it.

There are lots of laws and constitutional principles that direct the government to do certain things... the courts are well within their rights to force the government to follow those laws or constitutional principles.