eMdloti tourism suffers after power and water outages

BUSINESS owners, already hard hit by the Covid-19 lockdown, in eMdloti lost business over the festive period due to power and water outages.

What would have been the most profitable period of the year has left many in the lurch.

What’s more, residents who had stocked up for Christmas had to discard food that was spoiled without refrigeration.

Raul Soto, who lives and works in the area, was affected by the power and water outages.

“For business, we had to hire a generator and electronics were damaged. As a resident it was very bad as well. I had to throw away a lot of food. The whole situation was chaotic,” he said.

Krestel Govindsamy, a resident and booking agent for Umdloti Coastal Accommodation, said the outages began on 21 December with a few areas being restored on 25 December.

While electricity was restored on Christmas day, it went off again soon after, she said.

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“Most of our guests checked out early. We had to pay close to R100 000 in refunds because there was no power and no water. Guests basically checked in and then checked out a few days later. We thought the power and water was going to be restored, but it wasn’t. It affected us very badly in the business,” she said.

Govindsamy said they had to drop to off season rates, when they would usually be earning the bulk of their annual profit.

“Once inter-provincial travel opened, business picked up. Everyone relied on the festive season to earn money. The tourism sector was a hard hit sector. Business was going well. Some guests were very upset- they said they will never come back to eMdloti again,” said Krestel.

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Louisa Jacobs, a Bellamont Road resident said once the power was restored, the water still had to be pumped into the reservoirs.

“They had to switch the water off in our homes between 10pm and 4am to enable the reservoir to fill up, but then the demand was so huge that after an hour, people didn’t have water again. That’s why all the guests left- they had no power, no water and they weren’t allowed to go on the beach,” she added.

Ward 58 councillor, Geoff Pullan said the problem would be solved if the municipality would put in more cables from the High Voltage distribution substation above the N2 highway.

Spokesperson for the eThekwini Municipality, Msawakhe Mayisela said: “Supply was restored for all affected substations in eMdloti but we are aware of a new fault. A team was dispatched and is currently working on them.”

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