For Creamer Media in Johannesburg, I’m Thabi Madiba.

Making headlines: DA heads to court over Eskom tariff hike; Ramaphosa declares seven days of mourning for Frene Ginwala; And, South Africa plans new law to accelerate power capacity

DA heads to court over Eskom tariff hike

Amid crippling loadshedding across the country, the Democratic Alliance will head to the High Court to interdict the 18.6% electricity tariff hike that was recently granted to Eskom by the National Energy Regulator of South Africa last week.

DA leader John Steenhuisen said South Africans, who have already had to spend a third of 2022 in darkness and are burdened with indefinite Stage 6 load-shedding, are now expected to also pay for the looting and mismanagement of Eskom through exorbitant tariff increases.

He argues that electricity tariffs have already increased by more than 650% since the energy crisis started in 2007, which he says is quadruple the inflation rate over the same period.

The DA’s lawyers will ask the High Court to have Nersa’s decision be declared inconsistent with the Constitution of South Africa, declared invalid, and to have it set aside.

Ramaphosa declares seven days of mourning for Frene Ginwala

President Cyril Ramaphosa has declared a mourning period of seven days in honour of the late founding speaker of South Africa’s democratic Parliament Dr Frene Ginwala.

Ginwala past away at her home in Cape Town last week, following a stroke two weeks earlier. She was 90 years old.

The national flag be flown at half-mast at all flag stations around the country from January 17 until the evening of January 24.

The Presidency will, in the coming days, announce details of an official memorial service taking place in Johannesburg on January 24 as a tribute to the late speaker.

And, South Africa plans new law to accelerate power capacity

South Africa’s National Energy Crisis Committee, a body run by the office of President Cyril Ramaphosa, expects record power outages to ease as measures put in place, including a new law to fast-track plant development, take effect.

The committee, of which several cabinet ministers are members, told business and labour leaders on Monday that a range of interventions have been made at a time when South Africans was enduring blackouts of as much as 12 hours a day.

South Africa’s government has faced sharp criticism after power cuts were imposed on 205 days last year and every in 2023. Ramaphosa cancelled his trip to the World Economic Forum in Davos to hold crisis talks with power utility Eskom, labour groups and business.

That’s a roundup of news making headlines today

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