Water shedding squeeze suburban SMEs
SMALL to medium businesses operating from residential areas in Bulawayo are facing collapse due to water shortages which have seen some suburbs going for at least four days per week without the precious liquid.
Sunday News observed that the most affected businesses include those into car washing, salons and food outlets. Players in the sector said they cannot afford to buy water daily from some “water barons” who are cashing in on the situation.
In some cases, the business operators said they were now asking customers to bring their own water to salons to wash their heads.
“The situation is forcing us to buy water as our business involves washing people’s hair. Over the weeks, we have lost many customers who now prefer to use salons in town. We can’t follow them to town because the reason why we operate from here is because we cannot afford the high rentals in the city centre,” said Miss Sikhathele Dube from Nketa 6.
“In as much as those who sell water are assisting our business, it eats into our revenue and we might be forced to close shop.”
Sunday News also managed to talk to a carwash business owner, Mr Amos Mabiza from Emganwini.
“Although I was not gaining a lot of money from washing cars, it was enough to meet the basics for my family. But now because of water shortages, I can’t wash as many cars as I used to and not having a lot of water means the results are likely to be unsatisfactory. Buying water was never an option to me because it would have meant that I just bought the water to clean people’s cars for free,” he said.
The water crisis has also hit those who run restaurants. Some said they were now preparing small quantities as people were no longer frequenting their places fearing they might be cooking food using water collected from unsafe sources. They said they were not sure of the future of their businesses if the dire water situation continued. Contacted for comment, Small and Medium Enterprises and Co-operative Development Minister Sithembiso Nyoni said small businesses must negotiate with the local authority and come up with a win-win solution. “It is an unfortunate situation and it would be best if these business operators negotiated with the city council to reduce their shedding period. In case of failure to reach a compromise with the council, I suggest they try to make ends meet with what is there, without endangering the health of their clientele. I really hope none of the businesses close as a result of this because starting a new business can be cumbersome,” she said.