Load shedding blamed for losses
"The load shedding is costing small businesses like mine a lot of money every month, and making my business financially unviable," Jaco Duvenhage
POLOKWANE – Several businesses and households in the city say they have suffered a lot of damage due to load shedding.
A butchery in Ladanna, Kalahari Slaghuis, said they had lost two printers, two tills and scales due to the power cuts over the past months. Jaco Duvenhage, a business owner, said his business had lost over R20 000 in the loss of UPS’s as the power that kept going on and off burnt the units out, causing damage to the UPS units placed in the business to protect the office computers.
“The load shedding is costing small businesses like mine a lot of money every month, and making my business financially unviable,” Duvenhage said.
Joy Ramese, an insurance broker, said many businesses had suffered damages and in most cases they did not have enough insurance cover to assist in the loss of income and replacement of burnt out and broken office equipment. “In some cases the items can be replaced just once whereafter the excess gets too high for the insurance to be afforded,” Ramese said.
Municipal spokesperson, Tidimalo Chuene, said the municipality could not be held responsible for losses of any kind as the decision to cut the power was not theirs.
