Tensions are heightened as it leads up to the local elections on November 1, and it’s not getting any easier with the recent power outages in the mix, sparking outage across South Africa.
But the general public doesn’t stand alone when dealing with the loadshedding frustration, because Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) leader, Julius Malema claims that this is a tactic used by the African National Congress (ANC) to steal votes when the lights go out.
According to Briefly, Malema said that the ANC will implement loadshedding in order to tamper with the ballot papers, and told a group of supporters in East London that the ruling party is using this strategic method to steal the local elections.
Malema claims that the ANC will strike while the iron is hot and use the blackouts to steal votes when the Electoral Commission of South Africa (IEC) starts tallying the ballots.
In his speech, he said: “If you don’t believe what I am saying, go to Uganda or any African country. Before they steal the elections, they switch off the electricity. Immediately they say voting is done and registration is starting, the power will go out.
“They have boxes that they have voted for already. They will swap boxes … When you start counting, you will be counting fraud; you will even sign off on fraud.”
As per The Citizen, Eskom’s chief operating officer (COO) Jan Oberholzer said that the power utility is “extremely committed to make sure there is no electricity challenge going through” the upcoming local elections.
Meanwhile, Eskom warned the public to prepare for more power cuts during the next few months. “The capacity outlook for the period ending August 2022 shows that the power system remains constrained,” the statement read.
Eskom pledges to continue increased reliability maintenance programme to improve power
system reliability@SABCNews @eNCA @Newzroom405 @IOL @ewnupdates @News24 pic.twitter.com/Fmh2C4Jjoo— Eskom Hld SOC Ltd (@Eskom_SA) October 25, 2021
They went on to say that since April 1 2021, loadshedding was implemented for 32 days, which includes the 11 days of power outages put in place since September.
Eskom therefore has an urgent need for an additional 4 000MW to 6 000MW generation capacity to eliminate the risk of loadshedding and to “ensure the necessary electrical energy that is needed to stimulate the economy.”
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Picture: Twitter / @EFFSouthAfrica