SomethingBlack Couture is a South African-registered clothing company that manufactures school uniforms. The company has been doing fairly well up until now but, like many other local businesses, they too have been hit hard by load shedding. They have reached the point where they are considering establishing new ways of generating power, so that they do not lose any more business.

The company is situated at the Emmanuel Christian School at Makhado Park in Louis Trichardt. Limpopo Mirror caught up with its founder, Ms Juliet Mataruse. She has been running her clothing business in Louis Trichardt for only two years now but also has other branches in Johannesburg, Cape Town and Durban, which she started in 2010. 

“Load shedding has had a negative impact on the business. We have always felt the pinch, but Stage 6 has us on our knees. Most of the time when we do not have power, we concentrate on work that does not require electricity as much as we can, but the rest of the time we are left with no option but to close for the day and go home,” said Mataruse.

On a normal day, when they have electricity throughout the day, the Louis Trichardt branch can make up to 15 school uniforms for girls, but when power cuts are implemented, production is limited to only two dresses for the day.

“Sometimes I have to let my two workers go home, so that I do not keep them unproductive. They lose a few days’ wages at the end of the month, depending on how many days they have not been working,” she said.

Pretty Runokunda, one of the workers who has been with the company for two years, says the power cuts have definitely affected her monthly budget. “I usually send $100 (roughly R1 700) to my children back home in Zimbabwe every month, but with this constant load shedding schedule, now I might not have enough anymore to send to them,” she said.