LOAD-SHEDDING: Effects on small business and crime
The City Times turned its focus to small business and the effects that the ongoing power outages has on their livelihoods and daily operations
Washington Wakkum, who owns a salon on Tom Jones Street, lost several clients due to the power cuts. “I’ve never seen such a thing since I came to South Africa. It’s too much. Our clients come but we can’t help them because there’s no power.”
Following recent power cuts, which have plagued the whole country, businesses in Benoni have shared how the situation has negatively affected their pockets.
Economists and commentators have warned that the rolling black-outs will continue to have a devastating effect on the country’s already fragile economy as load-shedding peaked at stage six in the past week.
GALLERY:
Owner of the newly opened 3 Amigos Butchery in Northmead, Ettiene Kleinhans, said that the financial impact on a business that has been operational for only seven weeks is immense, but he remains confident that through proactive management, his business will weather the load-shedding storm. “We are losing sales due to communication link errors when processing payments through our speed points. When the power is off, nearby cellphone towers are also off, which results in electronic payments not going through.
Ahmed Petker of Iqbals Meat and Delhi in Actonville said load-shedding has forced them to buy a generator, which also doesn’t help to fully function the shop. This causes unnecessary expenses.
According to Benoni Chamber of
Commerce and Industry president
Muhammad Essop, small businesses
are still trying to financially and
psychologically recover from Covid-19.
The effects of load-shedding are
further putting strain on the sector.
“It has become nearly impossible
for businesses to function without
generators but the initial layout and
mounting running costs have become
exorbitant,” said Essop. “Capital
equipment is being damaged by surges,
which further contributes to the rising
costs of running a small business. We
hold government responsible for the
neglect and lack of maintenance at the
country’s power stations and feel that
rebate systems should be rolled out to
cushion the damages suffered by small
businesses.”
Deanan’s Auto Paints owner
Ravi Padayachee bemoaned
the inconsistency of load-shedding. “It’s something that is
however beyond our control. Our turnover is affected
severely, especially during
peak hours. We are starting to
find our feet since Covid-19,
but running generators makes
it more difficult because our
profit margins are not as high.
I think businesses should only
be load-shed in off-peak times.”
The owner of Al-Saudi Bakery, Muaaz Randera, said they've been hit hard by load-shedding because when there are power outages they lose about R2 000 a day. “Our cake creams get ruined and we throw them away, which negatively affects us because we need fresh cream.”
Annatjie Smidt from G&E Panelbeaters said the power cuts have affected her company's turnaround and she's had to deal with frustrated clients. “My business works on a compressor. It needs electricity to work. All my tools work with air. We can’t paint or put primer on. Where we could have done a car in two days, we now have a customer’s car for a week. It’s affecting our turnaround because we can’t take in as many cars as we would want to,” she said.
Clean-Inn in Northmead has to cram an entire day’s work into the three hours due to uninterrupted electricity. “Installing a generator is not an option for our business, as it cannot sustain the load needed to run all the washing machines,” said Schané Bierman, manager. “Pair that with the water supply also being interrupted due to load-shedding and you are looking at a business trying to offer quality service while the infrastructure is not running optimally.”
Rafik Saley of Akhalwayas
Spice Bar in Actonville said
they have no choice but to
close their doors during loadshedding as the scales they
use to weigh the spices need
power. This is obviously not
good for business.
While the financial impact on businesses
can be easily calculated daily, Dr Reza
Patel, chairperson of the Benoni CPF, says
the long-term effects of theft and damage
to infrastructure due to load-shedding
will cost the Ekurhuleni metro and,
subsequently, ratepayers in the long run.
“Snake Road has become an electrical
dead-spot, with criminals taking advantage
of black-outs to strip infrastructure. We
are seeing entire street lights and traffic
lights being chopped down and removed,”
he said. Our members are doing their
utmost to beef up patrols during loadshedding, especially at night, but request
that residents plan for outages as far as
possible. By restricting movement on
the street during these times makes it
easier for the CPF to distinguish between
residents and would-be criminals,” said
Patel. To better serve the community, the
CPF is appealing to the community for
donations of torches and solar-powered
flood lamps.
Elias Makamu of Mr Diamond Hair Salon
in Ewatwa said when there’s loadshedding on weekends he loses about
R700 a day. “Weekends are the busiest
time for me, so if there’s no electricity I’m
forced to turn away my customers. I am
the only breadwinner at home so if I didn’t
make money that day there won’t be food
on the table.”
It’s a similar story for fast food shop owner Andevi Ganesh whose business is reliant on electricity. “Business is bad. I’ve lost a lot of things in the freezer. I’ve had to throw away all my Russians, Viennas and burgers. We can’t even fry chips. This load-shedding is drastic. Eskom and government need to back up and give people their lives back. This is not life. We are going through agony. We don’t deserve this.”
The former owner of Wash Wizard’s Laundromat at
Northville Terrace, Charlene Thorne, is still trying to
pick up the pieces to survive after she was forced
to close her business of two years in July. “The
continued issues of power and water cuts affected
the smooth running of my business, hence I decided
to close the shop because I was running at a loss.
Things haven’t been easy these past months because
I am now back to square one, trying to find a job so
that I can pay off my debts. My business was very
convenient to elderly people in the area who can’t do
their washing as I provided discounts on pensioners’
day,” she said.
