Outcry over ‘failing’ eThekwini leaving businesses in the dark

Outcry over ‘failing’ eThekwini leaving businesses in the dark

Durban — Furious Durban business owners say they are beginning to give up on eThekwini Municipality and its “insoluble issues” of power outages that have caused an economic decline in their businesses.

The business owners of shops located in the CBD, in Cross Street, experienced a prolonged power shortage which began on Monday morning at 7.30am and lasted until Wednesday at 5.12am.

Speaking to the Daily News, these entrepreneurs said the blackouts have major implications for their businesses which could lead to them shutting down shop.

“We are already fed up with the current load shedding that has a significant impact on our businesses. As tough as it is, the municipality is still giving us a hassle. What frustrates us is that when the power goes off, they never bother to assist if we call for help.

“In most cases, the call centre agents do not pick up and if they do, they just log a complaint which takes hours to be processed. These people never prioritise us, that’s why we stay in the dark for more than 24 hours,” said one of the entrepreneurs, who asked not to be named.

Cross Street is located in one of the busiest spots, right next to Victoria Street Market, which is one of the best tourist destinations in Durban. The street is also loved by bulk buyers who purchase some of the items in stores located in the area.

Jadwatt Yusuf, who owns a butchery, said he has been running his business for 30 years but doesn’t think his business will survive for more years if the municipality continues ill-treating them.

“The issue of electricity outage is really deafening. The government is failing us. eThekwini Municipality can’t have lazy people sitting in their offices and then expect them to respond swiftly,” said Yusuf.

He said if the government continues to disrespect businesses and its people, the dire economic situation will never end.

eThekwini Municipality spokesperson Gugu Sisilana said the power outage affecting Cross and Bond Streets in the Durban CBD is a result of a double cable fault, which has necessitated extensive work by their dedicated teams.

“The team had trouble accessing the faulty cables due to their location, and this has delayed restoration times.

“We sincerely apologise for the inconvenience this outage has caused for both customers and businesses in the area. Teams are working tirelessly on repairing the affected cables. Power will be restored soon,” she said.

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Daily News