The Democratic Alliance (DA) will call for a parliamentary debate on national power cuts as soon as possible, it said on Tuesday.
Spokesperson and MP Hendrik Schmidt said electricity cuts were becoming unmanageable for ordinary South Africans and that the resolution of these cuts was of national importance.
”Eskom is fully funded by the state, and the ministers of minerals and energy, public enterprises and ultimately the Cabinet should be held responsible for this catastrophe,” said Schmidt.
The load-shedding schedule was not being followed and certain areas were cut off up to three times in one 24-hour period, often without warning, said Schmidt.
”This situation has severe financial implications for both large and small enterprises; any attempt at forward planning is totally negated by unscheduled electricity cuts,” Schmidt said.
The unscheduled shutdown of many power stations showed a lack of forward planning in conducting maintenance, he said. — Sapa