Govt to Lift State of Disaster Over Eskom Electricity Crisis Following Legal Pressure From Civil Organisations

• Government has backtracked on the state of disaster over Eskom and SA's electricity crisis
• The revocation of the state of disaster comes after Outa and Solidarity instituted legal action against government
• Cogta Minister Thembi Nkadimeng will finalise the withdrawal on Wednesday, 5 April

JOHANNESBURG - The South African government has decided to lift the national state of disaster over Eskom and the protracted electricity crisis.

The move comes after labour union Solidarity and civil action organisation Outa brought legal action against the government after the state of disaster was declared.

During the State of the Nation Address (Sona) on 9 February, President Cyril Ramaphosa declared a state of emergency to address the electricity crisis.

Solidarity and Outa take legal action against Eskom's state of disaster

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The move received pushback from both Solidarity and Outa and both organisations were due to meet the state in court on 12 April to challenge the state of disaster.

The government's sudden backpedalling on the state of disaster has been viewed as a bid to avoid an embarrassing display in court.

In a letter addressed to Outa and Solidarity, the attorney general's office wrote that the organisations' court action is now pointless, given that the state of disaster will be revoked, BusinessTech reported.

The organisations were invited to withdraw their applications and write to the deputy judge president to cancel the 12 April meeting.

Solidarity welcomes withdrawal of Eskom's state of disaster

The move was praised by Solidarity's Dirk Hermann, who claimed it would not have happened without pressure from his organisation.

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Hermann said:

"It is clear the government stood no chance of success in court.”

Minister of Cooperative Governance and Traditional Affairs Thembi Nkadimeng and the head of the National Disaster Management Centre will implement the withdrawal on Wednesday, 5 April, TimesLIVE reported.

Withdrawal of Eskom state of disaster signals red flags for Mzansi

Below are some comments:

Shwele Baba asked:

"Wow, are we out of loadshedding?"

Senzo Mfeka preased:

"Very disturbing. We thank all those who stood up and made enough noise."

Benny Malatjie claimed:

"We're so going through a dictatorship, this a red flag of how all African dictators started."

Vuyisile Duma criricised:

"ANC scoring an own goal again."

@fadie1000 questioned:

"What is going on with Cyril and his Cabinet?"

Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana withdraws Eskom’s PFMA exemption after public outcry

Earlier, Briefly News reported that Finance Minister Enoch Godongwana decided to withdraw the Public Finance Management Act (PFMA) exemption granted to Eskom on Wednesday, 5 April.

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This comes after citizens and political organisations stood against the National Treasury's decision, saying it would fuel corruption at Eskom.

Godongwana told Members of Parliament that the National Treasury had a discussion with the Auditor-General and decided to withdraw the gazetted exemption, reports News24.

Source: Briefly News