Load shedding judgment: Can Qwaqwa residents force government to provide water and electricity?

Staff reporter

Bloemfontein – The Judge Davies judgment known as the load shedding exemption judgment has been met with rather mixed reactions based on practicality.

While opposition parties are celebrating victory as this might sway voters after North Gauteng Judge ruled the government to exempt police stations, hospitals, and schools while giving the energy department six months to roll this out, the ministry has decided to appeal the judgment much to the anger of ordinary citizens.

In the main, the ruling party is viewed as anti-people while opposition parties as pro-people, and this is not seating well with the ANC.

At one point Gwede Mantashe, National Chairman accuses Eskom of decampaigning the ANC with interrupted power cuts.

Although it is not feasible to exclude hospitals, schools, and police stations due to power lines that are not isolated, the government can provide generators but how many schools do we have in South Africa?

Eskom can not switch Soweto off while schools, police stations, and hospitals are part of that community and receive power from the same feeder.

If you look at Botshabelo there are 42 schools with one hospital and no less than 7 clinics.

Then you have Qwaqwa with problems not experienced anywhere in South Africa, no electricity, no water, no services under democracy.

This judgment leaves a door wide open for the community of Qwaqwa who have not had water and electricity over 10 years. In fact residents can force government to provide services.

Lele Mamatu, the spokesperson for Centlec, said this will need a lot of technical work.

“We are compelled to comply with the order, though it will come with serious challenges, especially on how the network is designed, it will need us to do a lot of technical work.”

The ANC led government is finding itself between a rock and hard place, zyakhala

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