Alex tabisher A cross or a kiss?

MY READERS (who now number a staggering four) won’t be surprised if I make another pit stop in the linguistic garden.

Words can mean just what they say, or they can function at an abstract level. We remind ourselves that our voices must be heard.

Vox populi, vox Dei.

The voice of the people is the voice of God. You can have a say on how the future pans out for you. Your voice is the vote you cast. Your mark on the ballot paper is your voice.

Will the mark you make be a kiss or a cross?

The ex-governor of the Reserve Bank is now driving the finance bus. He delivered a keynote address at the Mowbray campus of the Cape Peninsula University of Technology this past Saturday. Now there is a voice that was waiting to be heard.

He stated in very clear and calm terms the exercises in restraint and constructive engagement that are required for financial recovery.

His was the voice of reason, of rationale, of experience and expertise. We await his voice in the upcoming Budget speech.

Often we complain that children don’t listen any more. We used to talk about the voice of authority. Father spoke, and the whole family listened.

When mother spoke, her voice spread love, and healing, and care. Sometimes her voice was dire, especially if you misbehaved and she promised to tell dad when he came home from work.

We also use our voices in that most rewarding human activity: music.

We voice our longings and praise, our affections and losses, our gratitude for rain – the whole human experience is voiced in song. Singing can tell what we feel and how we feel.

Sometimes we don’t have the words, and our voice tells it all in a song. Remember the Bee Gees: “It’s only words/and words are all I have/to take your heart away.”

There is also a negative side to the use of the voice.

Think of the irrational rantings of Adolf Hitler, or the narrow bigoted defence of the indefensible in government speeches during the bad years. And the words that hurt, like “I don’t love you any more. I want a divorce.”

And the sadness of the teachers’ voice that becomes fainter in the stridency of pupils who insist on rights and make demands.

Criminals also know the voice of justice when they are sentenced. It is here where the judge states clearly that child abuse, cruelty towards women and the elderly, mindless demands for salary increases accompanied by arson can, and will, be punished.

And in the end, we remember the voice of the dying, and the voice that speaks the words of the ritual that consigns us to the dust from which we came.

And then, hopefully, the voice of God. CITY residents could face more electricity increases if Eskom, which wants a 15% increase for the next three years, gets its way.

Eskom has asked Nersa, the national energy regulator, for a 15% increase in order to ensure that it maintains its stability and growth trajectory.

The increase is on top of the 4.41% price increase that has been granted to Eskom by Nersa.

Nersa confirmed this week that it had received Eskom’s Third Multi-Year Price Determination (MYPD3) Regulatory Clearing Account (RCA) Year 5 (2017/18) application, totalling R21.6 billion, as well as the Fourth Multi-Year Price Determination revenue application, totalling R219bn, R252bn and R291bn for 2019/20, 2020/21 and 2021/22 financial years, respectively.

The energy regulator said that it will assess Eskom’s applications following due regulatory processes.

This includes public hearings which will be held in Kimberley on January 21.

Ted Blom, a partner in Mining and Energy Advisory and an Energy Expert Coalition (EECO) contributor, explained that Eskom had submitted a double application for tariff increases to Nersa.

“The first application relates to a backdated claim for a shortfall of R21.6bn for the 2017/18 years, Eskom declaring below budget electricity sales revenue as the major component of this claim. An initial target included in Eskom’s MYPD3 application of 2013, shows a sales overestimate of a whopping R118bn – an amount they are now seeking to recover through increased tariffs.”

Blom added that the second claim related to Eskom’s three-year budget “wherein they claim they are actually entitled to a 90% tariff increase according to the MultiYear Price Determination”.

“Eskom then tones down its claim in an apparent bid to “accommodate South Africa” by curbing this application to three increases of only 15% per annum.”

Blom said he would again raise the issue of what he termed a “defective MYPD methodology”, as well as a lack of transparency into Eskom RAB (Regulated Asset Base) which, in the current application, was the key driver of the escalation in Eskom tariffs.

“The RAB escalated by more than R600bn due to a revaluation of Eskom assets by an unnamed ‘expert’.

“This stubborn behaviour by Eskom proves it is still captured,” stated Blom. “We will be rallying the public to put a halt to all these corrupt increases. The regulations are clear – only an efficient utility qualifies for increases, not a corrupt entity bloated with 35 000 excess staff who sit and do nothing day after day at massive salaries, four times higher than global averages”. – Patsy Beangstrom