How to Start
The Start
Key Message
We are not asking for something new, we are helping deliver what policy already promises.
Need
Hover to read1 | Need
Identify what the energy need of your community is. Energy is a basic need, and communities can shape their energy future.
Municipalities must give effect to the right of access to basic services, including electricity (Municipal Systems Act, s73).
Benefits
Hover to read2 | Benefits
Renewable energy can support affordability, jobs and reliability.
See it in practice: solar home systems in Enkanini, the Amarasta microgrid in Johannesburg, and solar streetlighting in Mkhambathini and Gamagara.
Basis
Hover to read3 | Basis
Municipal documents may not explicitly state “rights to energy”, but these rights can still derive from constitutional and statutory law.
The Constitution is supreme, and every law must be consistent with the level above it. Communities can use this hierarchy to challenge decisions that don’t align with higher-level rights.
Support
Hover to read4 | Support
There is policy support for inclusive access to energy, renewable deployment, and participation in planning.
For example, municipalities must build a culture of participation in planning, budgets and service delivery (Municipal Systems Act, s16–17).
Delivery
Hover to read5 | Delivery
We are not asking for something new; we are helping deliver what policy already promises.
You are not outside the system, you are helping deliver it.
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