Sakeliga instructed its attorneys to apply for joinder as amicus curiae (friend of the court) in a court case in which the applicant, SALGA, asks for a declaratory order that municipalities enjoy an exclusive right to distribute electricity within their jurisdictions . Sakeliga is opposed to the proposition that municipalities enjoy such exclusive rights to be without exception a middleman in the supply and distribution of electricity.
Sakeliga also does not agree with the constitutionality of such a claim nor with SALGA’s interpretation of the Constitution and legislation, and will make submissions on it before the court. More important, however, is that the monopoly on electricity supply that SALGA wants to cultivate through court processes for municipalities could worsen the already precarious situation of end users in dilapidated municipalities where the municipalities currently simply do not pay Eskom.
SALGA v ESKOM Holdings SOC and Others
Status: Active
Sakeliga’s role: Amicus curiae (pending)
Case commences: 25 October 2021
Court: High Court: Pretoria
| 1 August 2022 |
Eskom files an opposing affidavit in the case. At this time, most of the private entities joined as respondents have given notice that they will abide by the court’s ruling. |
| 1 May 2022 | Sakeliga writes to SALGA’s lawyers (SALGA has meanwhile changed its legal team), and indicates that Sakeliga will apply as amicus curiae in the case. |
| 27 October 2021 | Sakeliga’s attorneys write to SALGA’s legal team and ask for access to the case file. |
| 25 – 29 October 2021 | The following respondents file notices of opposition: Eskom, Sasol, Damplaas, and AECI. |
| 25 October 2021 | Notice of motion and founding statement filed by SALGA at the High Court in Pretoria. |
