Branton Matondo
With electricity now a thing of the night and power cuts lasting 18 hours over the duration of five days a week, meat producers and retail operators from Mutare have lamented on the dread brought about by the power crisis.
Power cuts have reached a climax in Mutare since the start of the year.
The rampant power cuts crisis has not spared the meat market sector and an inquiry on the state of meat marketers in Mutare has revealed that many retailers and meat producers are forced to resort to costly measures so as to cope up with the consistent power cuts.
Medium scale fish farming project Spring Glory fish that farms, harvests and sells its Tilapia produce in Mutare Central Business District (CBD) is one of the affected meat producing strongholds in the region.
Spring Glory Fish farm Coordinator Simon John lamented on the financial stress brought about by power cuts.
According to John, who manages the leading fish farming projects in Mutasa South Constituency, farming and preservation of fish has been put at high risk by the incessant power cuts that have ravaged Manicaland and Zimbabwe as whole.
“Load shedding has affected our business especially in terms of harvesting. This has forced us to supply the product at such a low price because fish is highly perishable. There is always no power to run blast/refrigeration machines in order to preserve our fish” said John.
Following the trend of incessant power cuts, TellZim News also got in touch with owners of butchers and meat markets in Sakubva and other parts of Mutare to hear their views on how business has been fairing.
A retail owner from Chikanga identified as Chinyanga said it’s very difficult to operate selling a perishable product in such strenuous conditions.
“The situation is not only hard for us but it’s also hard for both suppliers and the customers. It’s very difficult operating a business that bases on a perishable product like meat because you need electricity 24/7 to maintain that freshness. You find out sometimes that customers no longer want to buy meat from our butchers because they fear that they will buy rotten meat,” said Chinyanga.
Johannes Murombwa said business has gone as of late and it’s difficult to bounce back using generators.
“As for me, l incurred huge losses. It becomes even worse because using generators also requires more money in terms of fuel and maintenance. So in general, we can say the situation is very tough for all those who sell meat. At times the butcher is empty because it’s very difficult to sell meat without electricity around,” said Murombwa.
Zimbabwe estimations indicate that around 1 700 megawatts are needed daily to supply electricity for the citizens but the country has failed to meet a minimum of 1 000 megawatts mainly due to dilapidated power stations like ZPC Munyati and Harare power stations.
During the start of the year, power cuts extended from three to five days a week. The turnout for March and April saw most parts of Mutare power cuts becoming a daily routine with electricity visiting for not more than five hours during midnight and early morning hours.
