dyton mupawaenda
LUSAKA. – Joseph Chewe, a barbershop owner in Ng’ombe, a residential area in Lusaka, Zambia, now has to reschedule his business hours under the availability of electricity in the capital city’s staggered power cuts.
In his neighbourhood, he said, the power supply is cut off at 5am and resumes around noon.
David Bwalya, who lives in Lusaka’s Garden compound and runs a welding business, said he has been forced to work late in the night, as electricity is available only after five in the afternoon.
“There is nothing that we can do now because the problem is already here. So we need to find ways to survive the situation,” he said.
Chewe and Bwalya are among the many Zambians whose work and life have been affected since a rotational daily eight-hour load management was introduced last week, amid an electricity shortage blamed on prolonged drought that has pushed down water levels at major hydropower plants.
On March 11, power utility Zesco Limited started the programme, forcing businesses and residents to find alternative ways to cope with the situation.
According to the government, the country faces an electricity deficit of 430 megawatts, which may reach 520 megawatts by December.
While many contend that the power shortage has been caused by the drought, some, like energy expert Johnstone Chikwanda, said it is a result of inadequate planning and poor implementation of national development plans on energy diversification in the last 15 years. – Xinhua
Bongani Ndlovu
Online Reporter