South Africa remains in the dark while Eskom tries to fix its power stations. Picture: Bongani Mbatha African News Agency (ANA)
OPINION: Not all local businesses can afford to invest in alternative power supplies such as generators and solar panels to sustain day-to-day business operations.
By Olerato Carol Manyaapelo
South Africa started experiencing load shedding in 2008 due to the government failing to build new power stations in order to keep up with the fast-growing economy. In 2020, the country’s Deputy President David Mabuza promised that load shedding would be “sorted once the Medupi power plant is incorporated into the grid”. Load shedding is contributing significantly towards the failure of the economy in South Africa. Although we have always known how load shedding badly affects small businesses, last week we got to see the grim picture displayed by the “Sowetan” newspaper detailing the number of small businesses that have shut down recently due to load shedding. Many local businesses are struggling to cope with load shedding schedules; therefore, they are forced to shut down, which is against the growth of the local economy. South Africa’s SMMEs (small, medium, and micro enterprises) contribute about 40% to the country’s economy, meaning that the economy depends on the performance and success of small businesses.
The failure of the economy contributes to the high unemployment rate and high poverty rates facing the country. Already it is difficult for local economies to maintain and sustain their businesses due to lack of resources and investment opportunities.
Thus, this load shedding is doing more harm to local businesses and the growth of local enterprises. And not all local businesses can afford to invest in alternative power supplies such as generators and solar panels to sustain day-to-day business operations. To invest in alternative power supplies is costly and small businesses do not have sufficient funds for the extra power sources.
Load shedding damages equipment and makes it difficult for businesses to plan accordingly. The government is constantly preaching how the unemployed youth should consider opening businesses and make a living for themselves, yet the government is not doing anything to assist local businesses which are being affected by load shedding. As I write this now, there is a high number of people losing jobs due to the accelerated closure of businesses that are struggling to stay afloat. Even global brands such as KFC have announced that they will be closing some of their branches across the country due to constant power cuts. In essence, load shedding begets job shedding.
Small businesses are located at the municipal level under the municipal grid, not Eskom’s grid; therefore, small businesses are suffering more during load shedding, which also makes them susceptible to crime. More small business owners are complaining about how load shedding makes them more vulnerable to criminals and how that badly affects their businesses. This illustrates the extent to which power cuts affect ordinary South Africans, businesses and by extension, livelihoods. And the fact that the government is not doing anything substantive to address this problem adds salt to the wound. If the South African government is serious about tackling this crisis, they should have a clear and workable energy plan coupled with a competent leadership team at Eskom that is going to implement that plan. Although our country is notorious in policy implementation and decision-making, we really need a leadership collective that is going to take this matter seriously for the sake of salvaging what’s left of our ailing economy.
In the meantime, perhaps communities and local business owners need to take it to the streets as it is the only language understood by the South African government.
The government needs to be held accountable so that it acts quickly to resolve the challenges of power cuts facing the country. Community members and small business owners should stop normalising load shedding and lack of service delivery in local communities.
Olerato Manyaapelo is a Junior Researcher at the Institute of Pan-African Thought and Conversation at the University of Johannesburg.