South Africa: Unite Behind the DA So We Can End Load Shedding in Cape Town

By Geordin Hill-Lewis - DA City of Cape Mayoral Candidate

With loadshedding back again, just 8 days before an election, only the DA has presented a positive plan to end loadshedding over time in Cape Town.

Ten days ago, Eskom CEO André de Ruyter said that the utility was suspending load shedding for "election season." Tonight, South Africa is plunged back into devastating blackouts that cost our economy R500 million per stage, per day. It is now clear beyond all doubt that the ANC has broken Eskom so fundamentally that it can no longer even manipulate it for political gain.

DA-led Cape Town already uses its Steenbras hydro-electric plant to shield Capetonians from one stage of load shedding. And the DA is the only party that has put a clear and workable plan on the table to completely end loadshedding in Cape Town. We will use recent amendments to the Electricity Regulation Act to procure electricity directly from independent power producers, invest in additional generation capacity to augment Steenbras, and empower Capetonians to generate and sell electricity via the city's grid.

Load shedding destroys job, makes our streets unsafe, and forces added hardship onto our most vulnerable communities. Ending load shedding is the single most powerful thing we can do to secure Cape Town's future against the collapse of the ANC national government.

But we can never turn this vision into reality if we allow divisive small parties to smuggle the ANC back into power. If that happens, Eskom and the ANC will drag Cape Town down with it, as load shedding destroys any hope of fixing our city's economy and creating the thousands of jobs our city so desperately needs.

On 1 November, let us is reject the ANC and divisive small parties by uniting behind the DA so we can end load shedding in Cape Town.

This article originally appeared on DA

Photo: ESI Africa