The South African Students Congress (SASCO) released a statement urging for the replacement of Eskom CEO André de Ruyter and Minister Pravin Gordhan as South Africans have been “denied their basic right to electricity” over the past couple of weeks.
SASCO stated that the “implementation of loadshedding has grown increasingly questionable” especially as the enterprise continues to leap between various stages which proves to be at the “centre of plenty of South Africans not accessing their basic rights and as such is a cause for concern”.
“The consistent blackouts are an indication of failure of a state to manage the power utility under the watch of the current minister and the CEO,” said the student organisation. SASCO believes that the government should be concerned about the continuous blackouts as it affects the operations of businesses which may also impact the economy.
According to the organisation, Minister Gordhan needs to be replaced by someone who will ensure that the SOE operates effectively. SASCO urges the president to take a stance against the incompetence of ministers and CEOs of SOEs, to prove his commitment to the citizens of the country.
On 5 July 2022, Eskom reached an agreement with unions to end the labour action which lead to the implementation of Stage 6 loadshedding. However, Eskom stated that the conclusion of a new wage agreement with workers does not mean loadshedding will immediately come to an end.
Meanwhile, the South Africans Union of Students (SAUS) stated that it is concerned about the negative impact the continuous power cuts are having on education in the country. SAUS stated that loadshedding has been affecting students who live in rural areas and townships the most because in those areas, no matter the stage of loadshedding, the electricity can be out for 6 to 8 hours, which has a devastating effect on students.
During power outages, students are not able to charge their devices or connect to online assessments due to poor internet connection. This is especially worrisome as some students are still in the midst of exams which are being compromised by the effects of loadshedding.
Students also find it difficult to study in the dark, prepare meals and keep warm particularly as temperatures are dropping in the middle of winter. As the price of paraffin increases, students have written to the union to inform them that they are not able to cover those costs, which adds to the pressure currently felt by students from poor backgrounds.
The union believes that André de Ruyter and Minister Gordhan should be replaced because thus far they have done nothing to improve the power shortages in the country and that they should not be kept in place if the current electricity crisis remains the same.
However, those who defend these two men state that the problems currently faced predate both of them and that they are doing the best that they can with an ageing set of infrastructure that no one can fix overnight, so even if they were replaced the country would not have uninterrupted power supply by tomorrow or by December.
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