The business owner requested anonymity, but works in the food industry and is situated on Cowen Ntuli Street, Middelburg.
She explained that her enterprise was ransacked by thieves early on Tuesday morning during load-shedding.

The thieves smashed a window at the store and proceeded to pry the trellis door open before making off with her till system, cool drinks and the Mr Delivery App machine, which is estimated at R6 000.

The owner explained that the security company employed by her enterprise admitted to seeing an increase in break-ins during load-shedding and that the long power outages are also taking their toll on alarm systems.

“Many businesses have admitted to their alarm systems going off during load-shedding, which makes it impossible for the reaction officers to inspect every property.”

• An increase in cable thefts has also been observed during load-shedding, in particular the Kanonkop area, which saw lengthy power outages after load-shedding schedules ended over the weekend.

• The family of an accident victim is also convinced that load-shedding contributed to their loved one’s death after Johan Christiaan van Dyk was killed last Monday evening.

Mr Van Dyk and his family recently moved to Middelburg and he was driving his scooter at night when he struck an island in the middle of the road. His family believes that load-shedding, in addition to the fact that Middelburg’s streets were unfamiliar to him, led to his untimely death.