KLERKSDORP - The Matlosana Local Municipality’s decision to discontinue its Free Basic Alternative Energy programme without consulting affected residents amounts to a violation of human rights, according to the South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC).
Since 2012, the municipality provided residents without access to electricity with paraffin as part of the programme.
However, the benefit was discontinued from the 2025 financial year, allegedly without consultation with the communities affected.
The SAHRC says the municipality could have addressed its administrative and financial challenges without cutting off support to vulnerable households.
The Commission found that the programme was terminated without adequate consideration of beneficiaries’ needs.
Residents of Jacaranda informal settlement, one of six affected communities, say they have been left without an alternative source of energy, leaving households struggling through cold and dark conditions.
The municipality has yet to provide a date for when the matter will be resolved.
The SAHRC has ordered the municipality to restore the benefit within 90 days of receiving its report.
It must also submit a time-bound plan to electrify households that previously relied on the Free Basic Alternative Energy programme.