Rosana Mlambo, a seamstress in downtown Johannesburg, said she had lost nearly R3,500 in revenue since Thursday last week due to load-shedding.
“It’s a busy time for me because a lot of people are getting married. This weekend I had to sew clothing for three different weddings,” she said. Mlambo said she could only finish two sets of clothing on time. “I worked day and night, but it was still not enough. I had to travel and ask another sewer to help. This means paying for petrol, their electricity and cancelling other orders."
Sizakele Mthembu, a hairdresser in Freedom Park, Soweto, said she had lost R600 between Friday and Sunday. “Weekends are the busiest. I had to turn away four customers and for each person I would get about R150,” she said. “We continue to ask customers to reduce demand, as a concerted collective effort can help to avoid or lessen the level of load-shedding,” said the ailing power utility.
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