 has announced that they will start the eight hour load shedding exercise on Monday){kind=link}
Zambia: The Zambia Electricity Supply Corporation (ZESCO) has announced that they will start the eight hour load shedding exercise on Monday. One of the affected areas in the country will be the Mazabuka district. The initiative has become important for the administration of Zambia to take up due to low water levels.
The country generates most of its electricity through hydraulic power and the low water levels in the Zambezi and Kafue basins are responsible for a shortage of power supply. Accordingly, the administration has decided to start the load-shedding exercise.
The exercise aims to ensure that the limited resources can be used wisely and responsibly. The authorities acknowledge that the situation will cause the country’s people to face difficulties in their daily lives.
The authorities noted that the situation would also negatively impact the smooth operations of Small-Scale Businesses. Many Small-Scale enterprises in Mazabuka District are entirely reliant on power for their operations.
Royd Moomba, a Barber who operates within Mazabuka Town Centre has come forward to express his concern. He has appealed to ZESCO to consider small-scale businesses while they draft a load-shedding schedule.
Small businesses can not survive without the consideration of ZESCO. The corporation has to make certain allowances and adjustments to ensure that livelihoods are not excessively affected.
Moomba talked about his small-scale business, saying that as a barber, the business for his line of work is mostly active in the morning. Accordingly, he suggested that the Mazabuka Town Centre be load-shedded in the afternoon.
According to him, this is the time of day when business is slow. Another small business owner, Sparo Ng’andu, also came forward to share his concern about the situation.
He owns an Internet Café in the district and believes the long hours of load shedding will affect his business. The enterprise depends heavily on electricity to run smoothly.
Ng’andu has also called on ZESCO to diversify its power generation mix for the benefit of the people. He urged them not to rely entirely on hydro-generation, especially in the face of climate change.