THE lawsuit by unions, political parties and other interested parties against government over the country’s load shedding is expected to be heard over five days in March by the full bench of the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.
The initial court date was set for the 28th of February but that has been changed to accommodate the full court.
The applicants in the matter includes the National Union of Metalworkers of South Africa (Numsa), the United Democratic Movement (UDM), the Health and Allied workers Indaba Trade Union (HAITU), Build One South Africa (BOSA), the Inkatha Freedom Party (IFP), the South African Federation of Trade Unions (Saftu), and Democracy In Action (DIA).
In a joint statement on Monday, the applicants announced that the Deputy Judge President Aubrey Ledwaba directed that the legal case be heard from 20 March 2023 to 24 March 2023 by a full court of the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria.
The case is divided into two parts, being Part A – for interim relief – and Part B – for final relief.
In Part A, the applicants submit that the manner in which the government has responded to the crisis of loadshedding is unconstitutional and breaches several constitutional rights.
“Evidence has been produced as to the impact of loadshedding in hospitals, schools, small and medium businesses, telecommunication services and a range of other critical sectors of the economy which cannot function during the periods of loadshedding.”
“The applicants further argue that bearing in mind that loadshedding is not an inevitable fact of history, like Covid-19, but has been directly caused by deliberate state action, negligence of the state, and general disregard to the obligations of the state under the Constitution, there is an obligation on the state to alleviate the human suffering, which has been caused by loadshedding,” the parties argue in their court application.
In Part B, the applicants are seeking an order holding the President Cyril Ramaphosa, as head of the national executive, legally responsible for the human cost of loadshedding.
They are also seeking an order declaring that the President and his government have failed to respect, protect, promote and fulfil the rights of citizens in the manner in which they have responded to crisis of loadshedding, which the government is responsible for in the first place.
“The application is also concerned about the impact of loadshedding on employment. Eskom’s current and outgoing Chief Executive Officer, Andre de Ruyter, has presided over the period of the worst loadshedding. While his primary responsibility was to end loadshedding, no one who is an honest observer, can deny that he has failed. We say that De Ruyter’s deliberate strategy of closing down coal power stations and units in certain power stations, without alternatives which can generate the similar amount of electricity has also contributed to loadshedding,” the parties said in a statement on Monday.
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