Load-shedding and water crisis a major headache for businesses
Bonus spoke to business owners in Seshego and Mankweng to find out how the ongoing water crisis and rolling blackouts have affected the day-to-day running of their restaurants.
POLOKWANE – The notable shortage of water and slacking electricity has business people in the city at their wits’ end.
In the past week (September 18-25) there were either very limited water in taps or none at all in most areas of the city with Polokwane Municipality citing prolonged power cuts as the reason why reservoirs do not fill up quicker.
Load-shedding stages 4-6 often leave young entrepreneurs idle while their customers go to those who have alternative energy sources.
Mankweng businessperson Sello Malahlela owns Big Man’s Restaurant, situated near the University of Limpopo’s entrance.
He says maintaining sanitation remains his biggest burden when there is no water. Although he has an alternative water tank, the water is mostly reserved for making food. “It is frustrating for customers because they need to use toilets and the place must be clean.”
He said the entire Mankweng recently had the electricity supply interrupted from 09:00 to 18:30. “Because we often buy in bulk, all our stock went off on the day. Because I also sell ice-cream, I spent more on ice keeping the stock frozen as on the stock itself just to keep the business running.”
Meanwhile, Moketla Mamabolo is the head chef at Moketla’s Home at Seshego Zone 3, selling popular township cuisine including the famous S’pahlo.
He is agonised by seeing young business minds giving up on their dreams because of the current shortage of water and electricity. “People are becoming desperate. Some even settle to get involved in crime as they find it too difficult to sustain their businesses.”
The Department for Economic Development has also acknowledged the crises and offered advice.
Spokesperson Zaid Kalla said that owners must try their best to modernise their businesses in order to meet customer demands. “This can be achieved by installing back-up generators, solar panels and water storage tanks as an attempt to mitigate the unfortunate challenges.”
He said now is not the time to be discouraged, but rather a time to show innovative ways of doing business.
“Challenges of this nature further introduce opportunities for entrepreneurs to explore, for instance where generators can be installed or rented out to businesses in need.”
