Today Tuesday 22^nd November, The Electricity Action Group, Cosatu, SACP and citizens of Msunduzi Municipality will march to the City Hall to demand the immediate implementation of 200kWh of free basic electricity for households with prepaid electricity meters.  In 2003 National Government brought out a policy to provide all poor households with 50kWh free basic electricity.  In 2005 Msunduzi Municipality started providing households on the indigent policy and on the grid system with 50kWh free electricity.  In 2010 a campaign was started by civil society to increase this volume to 200kWh because 50kWh was wholly insufficient.  In October 2010 Msunduzi council responded positively and passed a resolution to provide all poor households living in Msunduzi with 200kWh free electricity per month.  Shortly thereafter households on the indigent policy with grid policy started receiving 200kWh free electricity per month.  For 8 years households with a prepaid meter connection (credit meter) had never received any free electricity - not the initial 50kWh nor 200kWh.  Households with prepaid meters were never given a choice of the type of installation - if you are poor the only 'option' is the invidious prepaid connection.

In March 2011 three women from Cinderella Park started to campaign for their access to free basic electricity.  They were responding to the terrible conditions of themselves and neighbours  which, with the onset of winter, saw families having to search in the suburbs for woods to cook outside with and find monies to pay for paraffin which caused their kids to cough and choke and burn.

The quietly resolute campaign has now exploded across Pietermaritzburg.  These three women started to talk to other women in the communities where they lived and then to women who lived further away.  Soon women were speaking to one another from all over Pietermaritzburg.  They started to organize and stand together.  Now women and men, old and young have come together to stand together and fight together.  Today's march is the result of ordinary citizens standing up for their right not only to free electricity but to be heard, to be part of this city, to live a dignified life and to hold onto the hope that tomorrow will be better for themselves, their families and their communities.  Another day without electricity is another day in the dark.

The march will start at 12:00pm from Dales Park (on Mayors Walk, next to FET College) and proceed to City Hall.  Join us. For more information about the march contact:  Beverly Naidoo on 079 130 0660 or  Samke Mdlalose on 079 726 1024.

If you can't join us, you can Click here to leave a comment.

PRIZES worth thousands of rands are on offer in a photographic competition aimed at showing images of what it means to be a real man in South Africa today.

We're looking for images that capture a special moment in the day of a man who is not afraid to show his kind and caring side. The subject can be any man?- young or old, husband or father, buddy or boyfriend, gay or straight - doing things that make a difference in the day of the people around him. Whether he's comforting a parent, nursing a child, helping with the homework, or having fun with the family, we want to see a side of him that challenges the portrayal of men as uncaring, irresponsible or abusive.

The competition is organised by the Pietermaritzburg Agency for Christian Social Awareness (Pacsa) in conjunction with The Witness.

It will run throughout November and the 16-Day Campaign of No Violence against Women and Children, which ends on December 10.

Usually we are bombarded with accounts of men who rape, abuse, steal and kill. But there are millions of men who abhor such behaviour, and it is time to use the 16-day campaign to celebrate positive role models.

Every Monday from now until December 1, The Witness will publish two of the winning photos with brief captions that tell an inspirational story. The best photos will feature in an exhibition in Pietermaritzburg on December 9. Others will be chosen for a limited-edition book about masculinity, culture, tradition, religion and the Constitution, which Pacsa is to publish next year.

Anyone can enter. The first prize is a Nikon Coolpix L120 digital camera with accessories and software, worth R4 800. The second prize is a portable Teac DVD player and photo frame worth R1?000. Prizes have been part-sponsored by Kay Makan and Liberty Midlands Mall.

 COMPETITION RULES

• Whether you enter one or more photos, they must be your own work.
• One or more of the people in the photo should be a male.
• Each photo must be supplied with a caption of 50 words or less or that tells a story about the people in it and where it was taken.
• The photos must be supplied with your name, phone number, physical and e-mail address
• The photos must be accompanied by a completed photo consent form (available from Pacsa), which confirms that the people you have photographed have your permission to use their images for publication.
• The competition is not open to staff members of The Witness or Pacsa or their relatives.

Your photos can be supplied as JPEGs or other suitable digital formats, or as glossy prints. Submit your entries in person to the Pacsa office at 170 Hoosen Haffajee Street, Pietermaritzburg, or e-mail them as JPEG attachments to Andile Ngcobo at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it The photo consent forms can be collected from the Pacsa office or please Click here to download the form.