BUSINESSES in Botha’s Hill said ongoing electricity and water outages, with rising operating costs, are placing increasing pressure on the local tourism sector.

Heidi Devitt, who has owned The Pot and Kettle for more than 33 years, said the unreliable electricity supply was making it increasingly difficult to operate.

“The intermittent electricity is making it more and more difficult to run a business successfully,” said Devitt.

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She said the situation was particularly difficult against the backdrop of a struggling economy and rising costs. “With the bad economy, rising costs, it really is not helping with the lack of services,” said the concerned business owner.

Devitt said the area had recently experienced four consecutive days of electricity outages, with businesses receiving little information about when the supply would be restored.

Businesses have increasingly had to rely on generators, gas and solar power to keep operating, but Devitt said these alternatives came at a significant cost. “Running off gas and generators makes it even more difficult. Solar is not cheap to install or use.”

She added that she believes the area requires substantial investment in its electricity infrastructure.

Tourism businesses affected

Jane Candow, who also owns a business in Botha’s Hill and is the chairperson of 1000 Hills B&B Association, said the problems extended beyond electricity. Her business is situated on the Comrades route, where a number of tourism-related businesses operate.

“Our area has been severely affected by the constant electricity and water outages.”

She said electricity failures could have an immediate impact on accommodation and hospitality businesses.

“When there is no electricity, geysers go cold, food in freezers goes off and guests become unhappy. Restaurants can’t serve certain meals because there is no power.”

Candow said the upper part of Botha’s Hill could experience several outages in a single week. She questioned why a long-term solution had not been found.

“Why they cannot come up with a long-term repair solution beats me. It just seems like they are putting on a plaster rather than addressing the root cause,” she said.

Some businesses, she said, had invested heavily in solar systems to ensure they could continue operating during outages. “To keep our guests happy, some of us installed solar at huge expense,” said Candow.

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She also raised concerns about the response times to electricity faults, saying one fault involving a phase problem at a street electricity box took three weeks to resolve.

According to Candow, the delays and outages can ultimately affect tourism numbers and property values in the area.

Water shortages add to pressure

Candow said outages had been linked to issues including burst pipes, repairs to the aqueduct, pumping problems and the time required to restore reservoir levels following an interruption.

She said that once the reservoir serving the area was depleted, it could take up to two days to refill. For tourism and hospitality businesses, Candow said the consequences were serious.

“Who wants grungy toilets in a restaurant or cannot shower after a major sporting event like Comrades or Dusi?” she said.

She also questioned how restaurants could maintain proper hygiene standards when there was no water.

Candow said businesses paying commercial water rates could nevertheless struggle to obtain emergency assistance, including water deliveries.

Dispute over commercial rates

The business owner also raised concerns about the costs faced by small B&Bs and guest houses. She said her property operates as a small, residential-style business, but is charged commercial rates by eThekwini Municipality.

She questioned why businesses paying commercial rates do not receive additional municipal services compared with neighbouring residential properties.

According to Candow, businesses in the sector face a range of additional expenses, including commercial electricity and water charges, rates, tourism-related fees, licensing, insurance, compliance requirements and various inspections.

She said her business currently receives a 35% rates rebate, which she said had previously been 50% after the Covid-19 pandemic.

Candow also questioned the treatment of small, formally registered B&Bs compared with short-term accommodation providers advertising through platforms such as Airbnb.

“We have no problem with Airbnb. However, these establishments are just illegal B&Bs trading with impunity while we get legislated to death,” she said.

She believes greater consistency in regulation and rates is needed to allow compliant tourism businesses to compete fairly.

The eThekwini Municipality did not respond to Highway Mail’s query by the time of publishing.

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