Chairperson, the recent electricity hikes that were imposed on consumers will have far reaching effects and the brunt of this burden will be felt by the poor and the middle class.
Increasingly more people will not be able to afford electricity. For years, corporations paid less for the electricity than it cost to generate it. Now ordinary people must carry the cost.
The issue of Hitachi and Chancellor House has been raised many times in Parliament, but the ruling party is still putting profit before ethical conduct. Cope is also dismayed that only R36 million has been set aside for renewable energy when that is the path to the future.
This department is not earnest about achieving its target of generating 10 000 GWh of electricity from renewable sources by 2013. For these reasons, Cope will not support the Budget Vote.