Johannesburg - Even though the Congress of the South African Trade Unions (Cosatu) supports the ANC’s declaration of the country’s energy crisis, the federation said it was concerned about the rising costs of living, which affected ordinary South Africans’ ability to stay afloat during these tough times.
“The federation is happy that the president and the lekgotla have moved to endorse and adopt the federation’s proposal for the declaration of the state of disaster to manage the electricity crisis crippling the economy.
“The state of disaster will send the message to society that the government is treating this crisis with the urgency it requires. It will concentrate all of the government’s attention and resources on stabilising and rebuilding the grid and providing government and Eskom with the necessary powers and tools to end load shedding,” Cosatu spokesperson Sizwe Pamla said in a statement.
However, while Cosatu may have welcomed the declaration following the ANC lekgotla, African Transformation Movement leader Vuyo Zungula said this was not the solution.
“Declaring a state of disaster for energy is not a solution. The country is still reeling from the Covid-19 state of disaster, where rampant looting and favouring friends with relief packages were rife. Eskom must be put under administration with a multiparty committee as overseer,” Zungula said.
Cosatu has also called on the government to help soften the blow of the rising cost of living following yet another fuel price hike, which kicked off this Wednesday.
This comes after the Department of Mineral Resources and Energy announced that the price of fuel would increase by 28 cents a litre for all grades of petrol, while diesel would increase by 9c a litre.
The latest price hike at the petrol pump has been fuelled by the higher oil prices in the global markets and the rand’s appreciation against the dollar.
As a result, Cosatu said consumers who are already struggling to make ends meet would be negatively affected by the high cost of electricity and petrol hikes.
“We, the Congress of South African Trade Unions, are really concerned by the recent increase in the price of electricity, an increase in the price of fuel, and the decision by the (South African) Reserve Bank to increase the repo rate. This is really going to leave many workers and their families struggling.
“We have many, many workers who are earning the national minimum wage, which means those workers will struggle to feed and clothe themselves and their families. Workers and consumers, small and medium enterprises, and the economy itself are still struggling to recover from Covid-19.”
Cosatu said the increase in the price of fuel would also hamper the productivity and growth of thousands of SMEs, whose workers ran the risk of being laid off.
The Star