By Lehlohonolo Lehana.
Popular fast food chicken joint KFC has warned customers that 70 of its stores are now temporarily closed as its chicken suppliers struggle with constant power outages.
The outlets are mainly in North Gauteng (Pretoria) and KwaZulu-Natal.
There are more than 1 000 KFC outlets in the country, and 600 have back-up generators.
“However, some of our suppliers have experienced immense operational disruption due to consistent and intense load shedding throughout 2022,” a KFC spokesperson said.
“This means we are experiencing some constraints in our supply chain, which although currently limited, have impacted some of our restaurants.
KFC has warned that customers may see “limited availability” of some of its menu items due to load shedding.
“Our chicken on the bone items have been impacted the most. We still however have a range of menu items available – including our burgers and wraps,” a spokesperson said.
KFC is working with its suppliers to ensure they have sufficient back-up power so that these constraints are resolved.
The spokesperson said that this should happen soon, so that the restaurants can reopen again.
Wednesday marked the 201st day of load shedding this year, making 2022 the worst year on record for power outages in South Africa.