ActionSA Welcomes Suspension of Ekurhuleni Electricity Surcharge, Demands Immediate Review in Johannesburg
Press Statement by Funzi Ngobeni
ActionSA Gauteng Provincial Chairperson
ActionSA welcomes the decision by the Executive Mayor of Ekurhuleni to suspend the controversial fixed electricity surcharge following public outrage and violent protests in Tembisa. This development affirms what we have maintained all along: these surcharges are unjust, anti-poor, and implemented without meaningful public consultation.
The now-suspended surcharge in Ekurhuleni mirrored the R230 fixed monthly charge imposed on prepaid electricity users in Johannesburg, a decision that ActionSA vehemently opposed in Council and continues to reject. These fees disproportionately affect poor and working-class households who are already battling rising food prices, unemployment, and service failures.
This moment must serve as a wake-up call to all Gauteng municipalities. It is no longer acceptable to balance municipal budgets by squeezing the most vulnerable residents while protecting bloated expenditure and inefficiencies in city administrations.
We reiterate:
In Johannesburg, the ANC-EFF coalition must urgently reverse the surcharge, which has triggered growing community dissatisfaction.
In Tshwane, where ActionSA leads the coalition government, we are proud that no such surcharge has been imposed — showing that alternative, pro-poor approaches to revenue generation are both possible and sustainable.
ActionSA will also write to the Speaker of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature requesting public hearings on the introduction of fixed electricity charges across municipalities. The people of Gauteng deserve to be heard, not punished.
The violence in Tembisa is regrettable and avoidable. It is a symptom of a government that ignores the plight of its residents until pressure boils over into unrest. Leadership should never wait for protest before acting, it should act on principle and in defence of the people.
We will continue to stand with residents like Gogo Flora, an 80-year-old pensioner paying over R2,000 per month to keep her lights on and millions like her across this province who are being forced to fund government failure through their electricity meters.
ActionSA will not rest until this injustice is undone.
ActionSA Welcomes Suspension of Ekurhuleni Electricity Surcharge, Demands Immediate Review in Johannesburg
ActionSA welcomes the decision by the Executive Mayor of Ekurhuleni to suspend the controversial fixed electricity surcharge following public outrage and violent protests in Tembisa. This development affirms what we have maintained all along: these surcharges are unjust, anti-poor, and implemented without meaningful public consultation.
The now-suspended surcharge in Ekurhuleni mirrored the R230 fixed monthly charge imposed on prepaid electricity users in Johannesburg, a decision that ActionSA vehemently opposed in Council and continues to reject. These fees disproportionately affect poor and working-class households who are already battling rising food prices, unemployment, and service failures.
This moment must serve as a wake-up call to all Gauteng municipalities. It is no longer acceptable to balance municipal budgets by squeezing the most vulnerable residents while protecting bloated expenditure and inefficiencies in city administrations.
We reiterate:
ActionSA will also write to the Speaker of the Gauteng Provincial Legislature requesting public hearings on the introduction of fixed electricity charges across municipalities. The people of Gauteng deserve to be heard, not punished.
The violence in Tembisa is regrettable and avoidable. It is a symptom of a government that ignores the plight of its residents until pressure boils over into unrest. Leadership should never wait for protest before acting, it should act on principle and in defence of the people.
We will continue to stand with residents like Gogo Flora, an 80-year-old pensioner paying over R2,000 per month to keep her lights on and millions like her across this province who are being forced to fund government failure through their electricity meters.
ActionSA will not rest until this injustice is undone.