The opposition New Heritage Party is concerned that Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) in the Country are being affected by the impact of load-shading that the country is facing.
Party President, Chishala Kateka, says government should have gone out of its way to help address or at the very least, alleviate the challenges that the SMEs are facing, since they are instrumental for the development of the Zambian economy.
“Load shedding has badly affected all businesses but SMEs have been badly hit as they do not have the capacity to undertake remedial action to negate the effects of the power cuts,” said Ms. Kateka in a statement issued to RCV News in Lusaka today.
“The load shedding is not a ZESCO problem, it is a government problem,” said Ms. Kateka further pointing out that government should have stepped to bridge the gap by realigning the 2025 budget.
She said the CDF expenditure is not an emergency expenditure and therefore it should have been suspended or greatly reduced for a year, to utilize that money for power procurement to ensure that there is adequate power.
By Eva Hatontola
