LOAD SHEDDING HITTING SMALL BUSINESSES HARDER – CHIWALA 

By Kalobwe Bwalya

AN unpredictable load shedding schedule has affected the business production of the small and medium enterprise and cooperatives especially those doing business in the Central Business District (CBD), says Business Development and Marketing Expert James Chiwala.

In an interview with The Scoop, Mr. Chiwala noted that since load shedding started, the production levels had been affected because the manufacturers could not supply more on the market and that was not enough for the revenue, as the majority could not work and operate according to expectation.

Mr. Chawala said some companies had opted to suspend their operations due to power outages and were losing a lot of money as their businesses were no longer attainable and sustainable.

He explained that there were other alternative sources of energy that the utility company Zesco should consider as the country depended much on hydro-power supply.

He said Zesco should think of migrating to solar energy just like some companies had migrated to solar power in order to change the scenario and move on.

He said Zesco should take a leaf and learn from other big companies that had the financial muscle to do so unlike what was currently happening.

 “Zesco should start thinking of going solar power energy because the load shedding has really affected the small business entrepreneurs, especially those who depended much on power. Businesses have been affected because power goes as early as 05:00 hours and comes after 21:00 hours and sometimes without a planned schedule, so how can one do the business?” Mr. Chiwala asked.

And Mr. Chiwala added that if the country was to get back to its economic stability, there was a need for the Government to embrace the SMEs in the country because they contributed much to the economy.

He said for now, SMEs were working at a loss due to long hours of electricity power outage which had affected every sector especially those that were into production of goods and services.

He stated that energy was the main driver of every economy of the nation and that it had become so difficult for the SMEs to pull through.

He noted that some companies could not manage to purchase generators because fuel was also expensive and therefore working at a big loss.

 “It is worrying that if Zesco does not revisit its time table schedule for load shedding, many companies will soon be closing down while others will downsize the workforce because they are not making enough profit to keep everyone at work. Therefore, Zesco should find another way of load shedding to SMEs doing business in the CBD,” he said.