The Ndlambe local municipality has moved to clear the air about reports Port Alfred in Eastern Cape would be exempt from load-shedding this week.
Port Alfred is currently hosting the Second Brics Working Group.
As the country battles stage six load-shedding, a report surfaced that the area would be exempt from rolling blackouts because of the workshop.
It said the exemption came at the request of the department of employment and labour and was granted by Eskom’s head office.
In a statement posted to Facebook on Wednesday, the Ndlambe local municipality moved to provide clarity on the matter.
“While the Ndlambe municipality understands the frustration caused by the exemption of Eskom load-shedding for certain areas, we would like to clarify that the municipality was never an applicant on behalf of such areas, nor the national department.
“Moreover, the exemption letter sent to the municipality by the applicant clearly stated that ‘Port Alfred is exempted from load-shedding’.
It said there was “never an indication that the exemption would apply to certain areas of Port Alfred”.
It noted Eskom had also revised its exemption.
Meanwhile, the management of Royal St Andrews Hotel, where the workshop is reportedly being held, said it had not applied for the exemption.
“As everyone in Port Alfred is aware by now, we are hosting a conference that includes national government officials, as well as international delegations. There have been questions about the situation with the electricity and load-shedding not happening in certain areas. Please allow me to clarify: Royal St Andrews Hotel had nothing to do with the exemption of load-shedding for certain areas.
“Neither the management, nor the ownership of the hotel made any such requests to any institutions, be it Ndlambe municipality, provincial/national government or Eskom.
“We have spent a lot of money buying diesel to keep our generator running over the last couple of years and were planning on doing the same for this conference. We, the hotel, never received any formal notice from anyone or any institutions about these exemptions,” GM Difford Louw said.
Louw said the hotel “did not ask for any special treatment”.
“Our generator is filled with diesel because we would never sideline any of the residents of our town in this manner. The purpose and main vision of the hotel is to bring people to Port Alfred, make it a destination of choice and, in the process, bring along social development and economic growth for our beautiful town. We have given back to this town on countless occasions and will continue to do so.”
