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Outa joins court challenges to energy state of disaster

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outaBL Premium reports that legal opposition against the government’s decision to implement a national state of disaster over the energy crisis is mounting, with the latest coming from lobby group Organisation Undoing Tax Abuse (Outa), which is heading to court for an interdict.

The state of disaster, declared by President Ramaphosa during the state of the nation address, is one of a number of interventions, including the imminent appointment of a minister of electricity, that the government has undertaken to resolve the energy crisis threatening SA’s economic prospects. However, the state of disaster decision has drawn widespread criticism, with civil society and opposition parties slamming the move. Outa said the implementation of the legislation was irrational, arbitrary and unlawful, while the DA filed an application in terms of the Promotion of Access to Information Act (Paia) on Thursday to obtain all the legal documentation that led to the government’s decision.   Earlier this week, trade union Solidarity also filed court papers seeking to overturn the declaration of the state of disaster, saying the energy crisis did not meet the definition of a disaster in terms of the relevant legislation. “Years of state capture, mismanagement and a dysfunctional culture cannot be a rational justification for the declaration of a national state of disaster,” said Outa’s Stefanie Fick shortly after the body filed its papers at the Pretoria High Court on Thursday. Minister in the Presidency Mondli Gungubele defended the move on Thursday saying it would allow the government to cut through red tape to allow for the swifter addition of generation capacity to Eskom’s grid in order to ease load-shedding.

  • Read the full original of the report in the above regard by Thando Maeko at BusinessLive (subscriber access only)
  • Lees ook, Outa hof toe oor elektrisiteit-ramptoestand, by Maroela Media


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