Government has been ordered to ensure that all public hospitals, clinics, schools and police stations are exempt from load shedding.
In a judgment delivered on Friday, the North Gauteng High Court in Pretoria ordered the Minister of Public Enterprises Pravin Gordhan to “take all reasonable steps within 60 days” to make sure there is sufficient electricity supply to the facilities.
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Gordhan must also ensure that generators and other alternate energy supplies are secured to prevent power cuts.
The court further reserved the judgment in part B of the case.
Background
The United Democratic Movement (UDM) and 18 other litigants approach the court in a bid to compel government to exempt essential services like public health institutions and schools, among others, from load shedding.
They also applied to exempt water and sanitation services, small businesses that deal in perishable goods, and cellphone networks from rolloing blackouts.
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The applicants, in part B, are seeking an order holding President Cyril Ramaphosa, as head of the national executive, legally responsible for the human cost of load shedding.
The case’s respondents included the Presidency, the National Energy Regulator of South Africa (Nersa), the Department of Public Enterprises (DPE), the department of Mineral Resources and Energy, (DMRE), and the Eskom management and board.
This is a developing story
