MILLICENT HUNGWE
MASVINGO-Business operators at Sisk Business Centre in Mucheke are incurring heavy losses as the place has clocked a record 21 days without power after a cable blew up.
The fault, reportedly caused by a damaged ZESA underground cable that runs through the sanitary lane next to DocZine Fuel Station, has left the business community counting their losses as perishables like milk and meat have gone bad and beer sales have plummeted as customers are deserting the bars for nearby drinking places serving cold drinks.
Shops that rely heavily on electricity especially bars, butcheries, and grocery stores are feeling the pinch as perishable goods continue to spoil leading to a sharp drop in customer traffic.
Derwin Johanisi, a saleslady at Mucheke Liquor Sisk, shared her frustration when The Midweek Watch visited the busy business centre, “The unavailability of electricity for these weeks has drastically affected our sales, it becomes expensive to operate because the weather doesn’t always favor solar energy.
“We are forced to run generators, which increase our daily operating expenses significantly as they need fuel to run them.”
Residents and business owners have expressed disappointment, stating that while ZESA technicians have been spotted on-site working on repairs, progress seems to be painfully slow as they have been coming and going without any tangible progress being witnessed.
“The team has been coming here frequently trying to fix the underground cable, but nothing is moving, we’re losing more with each passing day,” said another shopkeeper, who wished to remain anonymous.
Beauty Mapindu, a shopkeeper at Willis Butchery expressed her disappointment, stating that ZESA has never engaged the shopping centre on when they intend to repair the cable or how long it will take, making it difficult for them to plan on how to manage the problem.
“With the chilly weather conditions prevailing even if one has solar power it is affected by lack of sunshine, so the situation remains dire and affecting our operations,” said Beauty.
In the meantime, the Sisk business community continues to operate in survival mode, hoping for a speedy resolution to what has become a costly crisis.
Efforts to get a comment from ZESA regional manager, Engineer Jacqueline Hlatshwayo were fruitless as her mobile number was not reachable, while her office line yielded nothing as this reporter was kept hanging for more than 30 minutes without anyone attending to the call.
