TimesLIVE spoke to attorney Siphile Buthelezi about the legal basis of the letter of demand he sent on behalf of clients to the department of public enterprises and Eskom.
On Eusebius on TimesLIVE, he was asked to justify the legal argument that underpinned this demand.
Buthelezi, as can be heard in the accompanying audio, is confident the state does not only have a political duty to ensure a secure supply of electricity but, specifically, also a legally enforceable duty to do so. He insists, despite pressure testing questions from the podcast host, several constitutional rights of citizens are directly and unlawfully violated by government due to the ongoing rolling blackouts.
Eusebius McKaiser and Buthelezi debate whether the demands of the attorney’s clients are too expansive, and possibly trample on the doctrine of separation of powers by encroaching on the exclusive authority of the executive to determine policy.
The conversation also focuses on why citizens are legally entitled to greater transparency from government on the content of its plans to fix the energy crisis.