Eastleigh Mall managers raise concerns over frequent power blackouts
Mall managers in Eastleigh have expressed concern over frequent power blackouts affecting businesses in the area. They suspect that the outages could be an act of sabotage against the commercial hub.
Malls along Yusuf Haji Avenue, stretching from the Thirteenth Street roundabout to Fourth Street, and others on Jam Street, experience daily power blackouts.
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This has become a major issue, forcing businesses to rely on generators, which require large amounts of petrol. The additional costs have put a financial strain on the mall owners and shopkeepers.
Mohamed Ismail, the deputy chairman of the Mall Managers Association, stated that the problem has been ongoing since mid-last year. He noted that the association met with the Managing Director of Kenya Power and Lighting Company (KPLC) last year to find a solution, but no progress has been made.
According to Mohamed, KPLC officials attributed the outages to an overload on the power grid. They had promised to bring additional transformers to ease the situation, but several months later, no transformers have been installed.
"No extra transformer was brought. Instead, we were assigned a team to handle the constant power outages, but they take a long time to restore power when it goes off," Mohamed said.
Eastleigh is a major business hub, with hundreds of thousands of people working and shopping there daily. The power outages have affected various businesses, including small shops selling perishable food items that require refrigeration, wholesalers, and general retail stores.
Deputy Chairman of Mall Managers Association in Eastleigh Mohamed Ismail. (Photo: Abdirahman Khalif)
Many malls keep their lights on in shops and corridors throughout the day. When power is lost, shoppers struggle to see the products, which directly impacts daily sales.
The situation is worse on Fridays, according to Mohamed. Power often goes out at midday and is only restored in the evening.
"It is tough. How can such a busy business hub like Eastleigh go without power for so long?" he asked. "Sometimes I think this is sabotage. Otherwise, this should not be happening only to the malls, especially those on the busy Yusuf Haji Avenue," he added.
The deputy chairman noted that Eastleigh should be operating as a 24-hour economy, allowing businesses to run both day and night. However, the frequent blackouts make this impossible.
He urged KPLC to take immediate action to resolve the issue and relieve businesses of the heavy costs of running generators.
"We want action from KPLC. We need a constant power supply. We would not even complain if the blackout happened just once a week," he said.
Efforts by Eastleigh Voice to get a response from KPLC were unsuccessful.
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