DURBAN, SOUTH AFRICA — Tens of thousands of South Africans have signed a petition urging the government to adopt summer daylight saving in South Africa.
There has been overwhelming support throughout the country for this initiative, especially in Durban.
Summer daylight saving works by putting the clocks forward one hour in spring so that people can make the most of summer.
No-frills airline Kulula.com, which has been leading the campaign, says it is “on a mission to introduce daylight saving in South Africa by this time next year”, and that 30,000 passengers have already signed on in support of the drive.
Durban Chamber of Commerce and Industries chief executive officer Prof Bonke Dumisa said the chamber had never applied its mind to the daylight saving campaign, but, personally, he supported the initiative.
“I know in countries I have been to, such as the United States and Britain, daylight saving is a common thing, but I do not think that South African society is sophisticated enough to grapple with daylight saving, and I am not saying this in an undermining manner,” he said.
Livingston Leandy, a Durban firm of attorneys and leading campaigners for daylight saving, have operated on daylight saving for a two-week test period every year since 1996 and report that 98% of their employees are in favour of it.
eThekwini Municipality city manager Mike Sutcliffe said the council’s economic development committee had been discussing daylight saving for individual departments within the municipality.
“It is a healthy thing, but we need to be in sync with the rest of the country and obviously the matter has to be discussed at a national level,” he said.
However, Minister of Finance and Economic Development, Dr Zweli Mkhize, doubted the effectiveness of daylight saving in the South African situation.
“I am not sure whether we are ready for daylight saving, because, for many South Africans, it will create confusion during the switch-over, while in countries such as the US and Britain, people have grown accustomed to daylight saving,” he said.
Source: Mbulelo Baloyi/Thabo Masemola, The Independent