Africa-Press – South-Africa. Public Enterprises Minister Pravin Gordhan is expected to hold talks with Eskom in a bid to halt load shedding during Eid celebrations over the weekend.
Muslims in South Africa are expected to celebrate Eid-ul-Fitr on Saturday or Sunday, depending on the sighting of the moon.
A request was made for Gordhan to intervene after Al Jama-ah leader Ganief Hendricks instructed the party’s legal team to talk to the minister and the system operator at Eskom to “keep the lights on” this weekend during Eid celebrations.
The party said its offices were inundated with calls from members of the public who raised concerns about load shedding on the day of Eid.
“The president’s [parliamentary] counsellor, Dr Gerhard Koornhof, responded immediately, gave his full support to our request and advised that we engage with Minister Gordhan and Eskom on the matter. Al Jama-ah will join any interdict application made to the High Court,” Hendricks added.
He said he was advised that load shedding was determined by energy availability and that the system operator at Eskom could assist.
He said:
A petition for load shedding relief during Eid garnered more than 20 000 signatures in just a few hours.
In response to the call by the party’s lawyers, Gordhan said: “Eskom has been looking into the possibility of decreasing the level of load shedding during Eid ul-Fitr.”
Gordhan added that he would call Hendricks as soon as he received information from Eskom.
Al Jama-ah’s call followed a similar request by the Muslim Judicial Council (MJC), who called on President Cyril Ramaphosa and Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa to halt load shedding during Eid.
In an open letter to Ramaphosa and Ramokgopa, the MJC asked whether the lights could remain on when Muslims would be celebrating Eid ul-Fitr this weekend.
Earlier, Ramaphosa’s spokesperson, Vincent Magwenya, said it was “inappropriate to address such a request” to the president.
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