Load shedding chokes bread industry

SOME parts of Lusaka are experiencing shortage of bread due to erratic electricity supply.

The country is currently experiencing erratic electricity supply due to poor rainfall performance during the 2014/2015 rainy season, which has resulted in low river inflows into the Zesco reservoirs.

 

Zesco has urged citizens to brace themselves for increased load shedding as the power utility has cut out 300 megawatts of electricity due to low water levels following poor rainfall.
The erratic supply of electricity has affected the production of various products among them, bread.

 

 

A survey conducted in Nyumba Yanga and Woodlands area recently revealed that most supermarkets do not have bread as their main suppliers are unable to supply them with the commodity.
A trader at Nyumba Yanga market Rachel Mumba said most of the shops in the market and at Kamis trading area have not had supply of bread for three days.

 

“It is almost three days now and we have been waiting for our suppliers to deliver bread to us. The response we are getting is that they are unable to produce the commodity due to the current erratic electricity supply,” she said.

 

Another check at most supermarkets at Woodlands shopping complex revealed that most shops had run out of bread as early as 09:00 hours, as there is high demand but low supply.
A trader at the complex said people are buying the commodity in bulk, and that some of them are coming from as far as Kabulonga.

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