EFF accuses Ramokgopa of grandstanding over comments on free basic electricity
This criticism follows a revelation by the minister that 10 million households qualified for free basic electricity in the country, but only 2 million had access to it.
FILE: Minister of Electricity Kgosientsho Ramokgopa. Picture: @Kgosientsho_R/X
JOHANNESBURG - The Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF) has accused Electricity Minister Kgosientsho Ramokgopa of grandstanding and using poor households in a media contest against Democratic Alliance (DA) ministers serving alongside him in government.
This criticism follows a revelation by the minister that ten million households qualified for free basic electricity in the country, but only two million had access to it.
The minister said a conditional grant from the National Treasury was meant to provide free basic electricity.
However, the EFF said the minister's take on the challenge of providing free electricity showed a lack of understanding when it came to the structural challenges facing municipalities and funding of free basic services for indigent communities.
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The party claims he wasn't truly looking for solutions but for media engagement on his views.
EFF national spokesperson Leigh-Ann Mathys said the reality was that the grants received by municipalities were based on structural, incoherent and inequitable share formula
"The assumption that municipalities must rely on revenue collected from the sale of water, electricity, sanitation, rates, and taxes to build public infrastructure and deliver basic services is bankrupt, cruel, and punishing to the poor majority," Mathys said.