Government to Lodge Urgent Appeal Against Court Ruling to Exempt Facilities from Load Shedding
Key Highlights :
Government is set to lodge an urgent appeal against a North Gauteng High Court ruling that it must prevent load shedding for schools, healthcare facilities and police stations within 60 days. This step is to avoid "undue risk" to the country's grid, according to a statement issued by the Ministry of Public Enterprises on Monday. The application was originally lodged by the United Democratic Movement, Inkatha Freedom Party, Action SA, the National Union of Metalworkers and 15 others.
Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan said that the Department of Public Enterprises had "serious concerns" about the implications of the court ruling on current efforts to stabilise the national grid and address load shedding. "The department has studied the ruling and has determined through legal advice that the prudent step to take is to lodge an appeal to set aside the ruling and allow for the ongoing efforts to end load shedding to proceed without putting undue risk on the country’s grid infrastructure," Gordhan said.
The North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria made the ruling last week Friday, noting that where it is impossible to isolate embedded buildings and spare them from load shedding, Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan must ensure that generators and other alternate energy supplies are secured to ensure uninterrupted power. The ruling, however, has been met with doubts from economists, who believe that government would be unable to abide by the court order, for practical reasons.
The ruling also noted that Part B of the ruling, where applicants want the court to issue an order to hold President Cyril Ramaphosa legally responsible for the human cost of load shedding, was reserved. The South African Federation of Trade Unions highlighted that the long-term relief is for load shedding to be declared a "violation of human rights" such as the right to equality, the rights to life and education and the freedom of economic activity.
The appeal to the Constitutional Court will bring to the fore the importance of constitutional rights and fiscal realities. It is yet to be seen how this ruling will be implemented, but it is clear that the government is taking the necessary steps to ensure that the national grid is stabilised and load shedding is addressed.
