ActionSA notes with outrage, but not surprise, the latest attempt by the Executive Mayor of Ekurhuleni, Cllr Nkosindiphile Xhakaza (ANC), to shift the blame for the punitive R126 fixed electricity surcharge onto the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA). The Mayor claims the surcharge was “prescribed” by NERSA.
This is categorically false and iniquitous.
This misleading deflection mirrors the earlier excuse offered by Johannesburg’s Executive Mayor, Cllr Dada Morero (ANC), who also attempted to offload the responsibility for an anti-poor tariff on the regulator. Two metros. One ANC script. Zero accountability.
Let the facts be clear:
– NERSA does not prescribe municipal tariffs; it approves what municipalities submit.
– It is the City of Ekurhuleni, like the City of Johannesburg, that proposed the fixed charge and asked NERSA to endorse it.
– The City of Tshwane, which is governed by a multi-party coalition including ActionSA, submitted no such surcharge and NERSA approved its tariffs without it.
– Blaming NERSA is not only intellectually dishonest, but a political tactic to escape the wrath of residents whose electricity bills have skyrocketed under ANC-led governance.
While NERSA did not mandate the surcharge, it is not without blame. In fact, NERSA’s regulatory silence and passivity have enabled this crisis.
– NERSA is legally obligated to ensure proper public participation occurs before tariffs are approved.
– Yet in both Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg, these charges were imposed without meaningful engagement with the public and NERSA approved them anyway.
– Affordability assessments, if submitted at all, were never scrutinised publicly.
– Even worse, when ANC Mayors falsely claimed the regulator had imposed the surcharge, NERSA said nothing, allowing misinformation to take root.
In short: NERSA may not have written the surcharge, but they co-signed it in silence.
The Constitution (Section 152(1)(e)) and NERSA’s own guidelines require municipalities to consult communities when altering tariffs. This duty was grossly violated.
Elderly residents, low-income families, and prepaid customers were blindsided – without prior notice, explanation, or a voice at the table.
This is not just regulatory neglect. It is a betrayal of democratic governance.
As ActionSA Gauteng, we call for the:
– Immediate and permanent scrapping of the fixed electricity surcharge in all Gauteng metros.
– Urgent public hearings convened by the Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s COGTA and Economic Development Committees to:
– Investigate the legality and rationale of the surcharge;
– Assess whether public participation occurred;
– Determine the depth of NERSA’s regulatory failures.
– A forensic audit of surcharge revenue to determine refund obligations.
– The development of pro-poor, transparent, and participatory tariff models province-wide.
The suspension of the surcharge in Ekurhuleni is welcome but not enough. It is a reaction to public pressure, not a correction of wrongdoing. This backtracking does not erase the fact that the ANC willingly imposed the surcharge and then lied about who authored it.
ActionSA will continue raising this issue in municipalities and the Gauteng Legislature. We are fighting for fair, affordable electricity and an end to dishonest governance.
No, NERSA Didn’t Impose It – ANC Mayors Mislead Residents Again
ActionSA notes with outrage, but not surprise, the latest attempt by the Executive Mayor of Ekurhuleni, Cllr Nkosindiphile Xhakaza (ANC), to shift the blame for the punitive R126 fixed electricity surcharge onto the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (NERSA). The Mayor claims the surcharge was “prescribed” by NERSA.
This is categorically false and iniquitous.
This misleading deflection mirrors the earlier excuse offered by Johannesburg’s Executive Mayor, Cllr Dada Morero (ANC), who also attempted to offload the responsibility for an anti-poor tariff on the regulator. Two metros. One ANC script. Zero accountability.
Let the facts be clear:
– NERSA does not prescribe municipal tariffs; it approves what municipalities submit.
– It is the City of Ekurhuleni, like the City of Johannesburg, that proposed the fixed charge and asked NERSA to endorse it.
– The City of Tshwane, which is governed by a multi-party coalition including ActionSA, submitted no such surcharge and NERSA approved its tariffs without it.
– Blaming NERSA is not only intellectually dishonest, but a political tactic to escape the wrath of residents whose electricity bills have skyrocketed under ANC-led governance.
While NERSA did not mandate the surcharge, it is not without blame. In fact, NERSA’s regulatory silence and passivity have enabled this crisis.
– NERSA is legally obligated to ensure proper public participation occurs before tariffs are approved.
– Yet in both Ekurhuleni and Johannesburg, these charges were imposed without meaningful engagement with the public and NERSA approved them anyway.
– Affordability assessments, if submitted at all, were never scrutinised publicly.
– Even worse, when ANC Mayors falsely claimed the regulator had imposed the surcharge, NERSA said nothing, allowing misinformation to take root.
In short: NERSA may not have written the surcharge, but they co-signed it in silence.
The Constitution (Section 152(1)(e)) and NERSA’s own guidelines require municipalities to consult communities when altering tariffs. This duty was grossly violated.
Elderly residents, low-income families, and prepaid customers were blindsided – without prior notice, explanation, or a voice at the table.
This is not just regulatory neglect. It is a betrayal of democratic governance.
As ActionSA Gauteng, we call for the:
– Immediate and permanent scrapping of the fixed electricity surcharge in all Gauteng metros.
– Urgent public hearings convened by the Gauteng Provincial Legislature’s COGTA and Economic Development Committees to:
– Investigate the legality and rationale of the surcharge;
– Assess whether public participation occurred;
– Determine the depth of NERSA’s regulatory failures.
– A forensic audit of surcharge revenue to determine refund obligations.
– The development of pro-poor, transparent, and participatory tariff models province-wide.
The suspension of the surcharge in Ekurhuleni is welcome but not enough. It is a reaction to public pressure, not a correction of wrongdoing. This backtracking does not erase the fact that the ANC willingly imposed the surcharge and then lied about who authored it.
ActionSA will continue raising this issue in municipalities and the Gauteng Legislature. We are fighting for fair, affordable electricity and an end to dishonest governance.