Business Unity South Africa (Busa) has asked the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa) to delay its public hearings on Eskom’s proposed 53% tariff hike.
Briefing the media in Johannesburg on Tuesday, Busa chief executive Jerry Vilakazi said a tariff increase would be ”short-sighted” and was not a sustainable solution to the current electricity crisis.
”We believe that the current price of electricity in the country is not sustainable, therefore the principal of the increase we support. However, we are strongly opposed to the current increase that Eskom has requested,” he said.
”We do not understand why they are fast-tracking [the application and public hearings] when they are not dealing with the issues.”
Vilakazi said Busa wrote to Nersa on Monday requesting sufficient time for business to make submissions.
”Business is already bleeding from unwanted load-shedding schedules.”
Busa’s director of economic policy, Simi Siwisa, said Busa had requested that the regulator investigate the management of Eskom and internal problems that may have contributed to the crisis.
”Its not really about the price … it’s about the people issues,” she said, adding that Eskom was not being transparent.
Vilakazi said the crisis was not one faced by Eskom alone and therefore other structures needed to be involved in finding a solution.
”It’s a nationwide crisis, not an Eskom crisis. We don’t believe that Eskom has the capacity to unilaterally respond to the problem,” he said.
Nersa is expected to rule on Eskom’s application in June.
Vilakazi also acknowledged Busa’s mandate to respond to issues such as price-fixing and food price hikes, as it had been called on to do by the Congress of South African Trade Unions through an application to the National Economic Development and Labour Council (Nedlac).
”We are mandated … to negotiate at Nedlac on behalf of business.”
Vilakazi reiterated that the economy of the country and the Southern African Development Community region was further being threatened by the situation in Zimbabwe, which he said had become an ”embarrassment”.
”The crisis in Zimbabwe currently has a strong potential to undermine its economy, which has almost hit rock bottom, but also to undermine the economy of South Africa … and the region.”
Vilakazi said foreign business was ”scared” to invest in Zimbabwe and its neighbouring countries.
”Rightfully so … is the problem going to spill over?” — Sapa