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Barbershop Owner Transforms Business into Charging Station Amid Outages

1/17/2026

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Summary

Story summary

Anselmo Munghabe, a barbershop owner in Tembisa, turned his shop into a charging station amid electricity shortages.
Since last April, outages have hit the community, forcing residents to pay 5 rand per phone using a 23-pound battery.
Overloaded transformers leave many in the dark in Tembisa, where 90% of South Africans are connected to the grid.
The arrangement enables Munghabe to keep his business running and generate additional income.

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Story summary

Anselmo Munghabe, a barbershop owner in Tembisa, turned his shop into a charging station amid electricity shortages.
Since last April, outages have hit the community, forcing residents to pay 5 rand per phone using a 23-pound battery.
Overloaded transformers leave many in the dark in Tembisa, where 90% of South Africans are connected to the grid.
The arrangement enables Munghabe to keep his business running and generate additional income.