DAYLIGHT SAVING TIME

Daylight Saving Time ("DST") is defined as the moving forward of clocks around the world during summer in order to increase the amount of daylight at the end of each working day. Where DST is introduced people pretend that their position on the earth is equivalent to one (or two depending upon which country is referred to) hour to the west so that sunrise and sunset occur one, or two, hours later. This gives the impression that daytime is longer as the sun sets later.

There have been various attempts to introduce DST in South Africa. The first attempt predates the Anglo Boer War when the mines in the Witwatersrand introduced DST so as to give employees more recreational time in daylight. This caused confusion in that there was a difference between time for those on the mines and those who lived in the towns. During World War II DST was introduced in order to save fuel. It was not a great success, as neighboring countries did not follow suit. In 1952 the Johannesburg City Council passed a motion endorsing the introduction of DST, but this never occurred. The Association of Chambers of Commerce (ASSOCOM) at various stages urged government to introduce DST, but nothing was followed up. In 1985 the Town Council of Plettenburg Bay instituted DST within its jurisdiction. "Plet-Time", remained in place for a short while but was then abandoned because of the problems caused by the disjunctive between "Plet-Time" and national time.

The major reason put forward for the introduction of DST is that it saves energy. When people are asleep they do not use electrical appliances, consequently no electricity is consumed. People also tend to spend more time on outside activities, rather then being in the home, consequently less energy is used. In South Africa where many households do not have access to energy in the form of electricity, this saving may not be so great. However there would be a saving in the use of other fuel, like paraffin, or the use of fires, which would in turn have an effect on the environment and on the consumption of fuel.

Another reason for the introduction of DST is that it creates more productive people. It is assumed that people are more productive when working in light, this has, however, never been definitively established in any research.

Tourism may be advantaged by the introduction of DST in that there would be more daylight for outdoor activities. Kwa-Zulu Natal, which is the province that would be affected most by DST, is one of the chief destinations for tourists. In the Western Cape, with its long summer days, this would not have as much of an effect.

Sport would benefit with the introduction of DST in that that would be more daylight for sporting activities like practicing and matches after work.

It has also been shown that less crime occurs when there is more light, criminals tend to operate at night.

The people who complain most about DST are those in the rural areas, in the main farmers. The sun defines their work, they wake up with the sun, and sleep when it gets dark, no matter what the clock says. The benefit of more daylight in the evening in any event comes at the cost of less daylight in the morning. In South Africa where most of the population is rural this argument would apply. In addition to this for many commuters who spend long hours travelling saving daylight would be irrelevant.

In South Africa, which is situated relatively close to the equator and the differences between light and night in winter and summer is not so markedly different, the cost of introducing DST may out weigh the benefit.

If DST is introduced in South Africa, but not in neighboring countries such as Botswana, Mozambique, Namibia, Swaziland and Lesotho, this could cause immense disruptions to the economy in the region, particularly in relation to transport and communications.