Former Chinsali Mayor Thomas Mutale says its time the business community in Chinsali district embraced the use of solar power in the wake of power outage.
Mr Mutale says it is important that the business sector explore other alternative sources of energy for their businesses rather than solely depending on ZESCO, the national utility.
Speaking in an interview with the ZANIS this morning, Mr Mutale expressed happiness with how other business entities have adapted to utilising solar power in their various businesses.
“ I encourage other business owners to emulate and embrace the use of solar power if they want their businesses to run smoothly, “ he emphasised.
The former Chinsali Mayor further appealed to the government to ensure long-term measurers are put in place to resolve the power deficit, adding that other sources of energy can also be utilised.
“If government can also utilise these rivers, dams and streams for power as long-term measures, it can be of help to all the citizens,” he said.
Meanwhile, in impromptu interviews by ZANIS in the main business district, some entrepreneurs were of the view that government must increase its empowerment programmes to anchor on the energy sector so that many people can benefit.
Mr Rodwell Mumba, who runs a barbershop, said empowerment such as the Constituency Development Fund (CDF) among others are not sufficient as many people are want to get their share.
His colleague , Danny Sinkala, a welder, suggested that the government should empower small businesses with generators and solar power to mitigate the impact of load shedding.
“When power goes, I just park my welding equipment and go home because I don’t have a gen-set, but if government can empower me with a solar system I can do better,” he said.
But for Mathews Mkandawire , he was of the view that despite using an inverter as a source of energy it is not sufficient to run his business the whole day.
“I bought this inverter and when power goes I switch to it but it can only last for six hours,” he said.
