Blackouts: who pays for all those extras?
Last year, after being cleaned out by armed robbers, I found myself in a tight financial situation. I had a lot to replace. So it seemed sensible to forgo the convenience of a laptop, in favour of a more powerful but less expensive desktop. Turns out I underestimated the catastrophic consequences of the government’s economic policies. Turns out I now need a laptop after all, just to maintain my income. My attempt at financial prudence has cost me dearly, and all I have to show for it is a treasured presidential apology.
Companies and individuals — those who can afford it, at least — have in the last few weeks spent fortunes recently on diesel generators, uninterruptible power supplies, solar power or water heating units, low-wattage lights, gas lamps and bottled gas, battery-operated electronic devices and batteries. Larger companies may be able to handle such expenses, but M-Net’s news magazine show Carte Blanche reported on one fellow who manufactures curious metal things for the mining industry, who is more typical of the thousands of small and medium-sized businesses that create most of the growth and employ most of the people in South Africa. He estimates that generating his own power will cost him at least a million rand a month, which his business simply cannot afford. Especially when his customers are shutting down operations. He’ll probably set up shop elsewhere, or go out of business. And he’ll be joining thousands of others, employing many more, who’ll shutter the doors as a result of such costs.
So who gets to carry the can for all these expenses? I’m not big into online petitions, and believe that even if they’re sensibly constructed, they carry little or no weight with policy makers. However, the sentiments expressed in this one are worth considering: have the taxman pay for everything. Just deduct all these unexpected and unbudgeted costs from your taxes with your next tax return. It’s a far simpler solution than having everyone sue Eskom and the government for the costs and lost revenue caused by their lies and incompetence.
