By Everson Luhanga
With the power crisis not getting any better, a dangerous scene has emerged in one of South Africa’s busiest streets in the Johannesburg CBD.
Shop owners in the famous Small Street, which is always packed with shoppers from all walks of life, create a frenzy of noise soon after load-shedding starts.
Scrolla.Africa visited the area during three-hour rolling blackouts.
Generators were lined up outside shops, some with cardboard boxes on top and some left uncovered for aeration.
The smell of petrol, the buzzing noise of the generators supplying power to different shops, and the sounds of shoppers’ voices indicate how dire the situation has become since power cuts have been part of people’s daily lives in the city of gold and across the country.
Business owner Shein Aliku said everyone has their own generator to supply power to their shop. “Generators are expensive. They range from R4,000 to R20,000. With the power cuts, everyone is forced to buy one,” he said.
He said the practice of keeping generators and petrol in the shops is dangerous and unacceptable. However, more people have been seen buying the machines to keep their businesses running.
“We know you cannot keep petrol in a shop or a house. It could cause a fire that could gut the entire city, reducing it to nothing,” he said.
Another shop owner, Karim Sayd, said landlords have started charging shopkeepers extra fees for risking the safety of their properties by storing the generators and petrol on their properties.
“The solution to this is for the shop owners to come together, contribute money, and have one central power supply when there is load-shedding.
“But several meetings have yielded no results because the sizes of businesses differ. Some people feel they will be victims of paying more than they should,” he said.
A general worker in one of the shops, Martha Sithole, said she is no longer comfortable working in those shops as she fears the generators can explode.
“It is scary to hear the sounds of generators every time power is switched off.
“I want to leave this job, but I have nothing else to do. There is load-shedding and unemployment at the same time. I don’t know where to run to,” she said.
The dire situation in the famous street has attracted the attention of Gauteng MEC for community safety Faith Mazibuko and former Joburg MMC for public safety David Tembe. Both came to inspect the area about two weeks ago and said they regard it as a ticking bomb.
Pictured above: Generators lined up in Johannesburg’s Small Street during load-shedding
Image source: Everson Luhanga
