DA to make case against Eskom's tariff hike ahead of public hearings

The Democratic Alliance will on Monday make public its position on the proposed 25.3% electricity tariff hike being requested from Eskom.

Business Day reported last week that Eskom’s acting CE Brian Molefe said that the utility needed additional in revenue through the tariff hike this year or SA would pay a much higher price in terms of forced outages that would cost the economy more.

DA leader Mmusi Maimane is expected to brief the media on Monday on his party’s opposition to the proposed hike‚ “as well as (Eskom’s) continued mismanagement of the electricity crisis”.

The announcement of the price increase was met with widespread disapproval from business organisations‚ trade unions‚ religious groups and opposition political parties.

The National Energy Regulator of SA is set to hold public hearing on Eskom’s request this week in Johannesburg‚ and its decision is expected to be made on June 25.

The DA in Limpopo will on Monday hold a briefing on what it is calling “load-shedding deaths at Letaba hospital”.

The party’s provincial chairperson‚ Langa Bodlani‚ will be joined by the family of Faith Malatji‚ “a patient who sadly passed away as machines failed during load-shedding at Letaba Hospital last Thursday”.

“The family learned of the passing of the late Faith Malatji on Friday from a radio broadcast‚” said Bodlani.

“This is the most heartless way of dealing with a family who have just lost their loved one.”