Power outage angers business owners
Food items had to be thrown away because of unplanned power cuts in the area.
Businesses along Main Harding Road, Marburg, were struggling from a prolonged power outage that forced many to close their doors.
Of concern is that shop owners and store managers will have to discard most food items.
The outage occurred on June 15, leaving many clients without power at the Marburg Value Centre. It is believed to be related to the rehabilitation of Main Harding Road.
Sherita Manisunker who owns a fish shop, said electricity went off on Saturday at about 18:00 . “Up until Wednesday (June 19) we didn’t have electricity. I have 12 freezers, and they have defrosted. I suffered a lot of damage; how are we going to cope? The rehabilitation of the road, which started two years ago, has affected us tremendously and now this. This is unacceptable.”
Many other businesses are counting their losses, too. A paint shop cannot mix paint; others can’t access their computers, resulting in no trade. A tyre business cannot use its machines and had to turn away customers.
Suren Reddy, the Regional Manager of Checkmart, said the situation is desperate and total closure is on the cards.
“Since the rehabilitation of the road, we have taken a huge knock. My concern is that I haven’t seen an urgency to get the road fixed. Now, the prolonged power outage is just a death blow. The team fixing the problem is dragging its feet. Also, there is just no urgency to get the power restored, and those responsible to oversee this project don’t seem to worry. We went to Ray Nkonyeni Municipality on Wednesday and failed to get a proper answer or any feedback from them.”
So far, the supermarket has spent over R25 000 on fuel to run a generator. Also, many staff fear losing their jobs as closure looms.
Ray Nkonyeni Municipality was contacted for comment, but none was forthcoming at the time of going to print.
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