By Chinoyi Chipulu
Chingola Chamber of Commerce and Industry president Freddie Musonda says small businesses in Zambia are having a hard time to survive due to long hours of loadsheding.
In an interview with Daily Revelation yesterday, Musonda said loadsheding had been a big blow to small business in the district.
He said with the inconsistent access to electricity coupled with long hours of loadshedding, entrepreneurs were facing numerous challenges that hindered productivity and growth.
He said mostly power was restored for three hours which was not helping business owners who were incurring loses.
By press time, Musonda said there had been been no power in his area since Friday afternoon until Saturday evening.
“Some of these businesses operate on a low budget and have not planned for contingency power backup plans so it’s quite difficult for them to make profits,” he said.
Musonda said small businesses that did not have generators, including salons, barbershops and welding shops, had to suspend operations during load shedding.
“It has been so hard for them to make money for a living. We were used to the consistent power supply. We were complaining before they started adjusting tariffs, that’s an indication that even the cost of power that we are getting, it’s difficult for small operators to put in their own contingency power solutions,” he said.
“With the power being rationed this way, survival for them is very difficult. Most butcheries, salons and barbershops are having a lot of trouble even general offices that use computers. It’s a big challenge.”
Musonda also said operating for three hours was giving SMEs (Small and Medium Enterprises) a productivity of about 30 percent.
“An average of 50 percent productivity that was expected for the year has been lost. Profitability has dropped. Things like foods have been wasted,” said Musonda.
